Consumers have been warned only to buy e-bikes and e-scooters from reputable retailers following a dramatic surge in house fires caused by unsafe batteries and chargers.
An “alarming spate” of fires has been attributed to non-compliant lithium-ion batteries used in the bikes and scooters, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) warned.
The number of fires caused by the batteries has surged by almost 150% over the past year, according to Freedom of Information data obtained by the insurer Zurich, while firefighters in London alone attended 88 fires caused by e-bikes last year – an increase of 80% on the 49 responded to in 2021.
