Fire-safety norms for Li-ion battery could push up e-scooter prices by 10%

Prices of electric scooters could go up by more than 10 per cent owing to extra fire-safety norms, just when their sales showed a substantial increase in August.

The government on September 1, through a notification, mandated additional safety requirements for lithium-ion batteries, to come into effect on October 1.

These relate to battery management systems, on-board chargers, designs of the battery pack, thermal propagation due to internal cell short-circuits that could lead to fire, etc.

They are applicable to two-wheelers, three-wheelers and cars (experts say cars have advanced batteries, so most of them will stay untouched).