The recent wave of fires involving lithium-ion battery-powered e-bikes and scooters raises serious safety concerns for all Americans.  These fires have destroyed homes and businesses; and led to too many tragic deaths.  Manufacturers and retailers need to take responsibility and provide safe products to consumers.  And consumers need to know how to keep themselves safe.

Today, the CPSC took an important step in our effort to improve the safety of these products by sending letters to more than 2,000 manufacturers, importers, and retailers of battery-powered micromobility products urging them to only manufacture, import, or sell products that meet applicable voluntary safety standards.  These standards, developed through rigorous testing by independent organizations, aim to prevent thermal overload on lithium-ion batteries, the cause of many of these deadly fires.  These standards will save lives and all e-bikes, scooters, and hoverboards should be manufactured to meet them. 

Consumers should look for products certified by independent laboratories to meet voluntary safety standards when buying e-bikes, scooters, and related equipment such as chargers and extra batteries.  They also should make sure such chargers and extra batteries are designed for or compatible with their particular e-bike or scooter, and all repairs are done by qualified technicians.

CPSC will continue to engage on a variety of fronts to tackle battery fires and keep consumers safe, including working to make sure that standards are robust and investigating individual products to determine if they are defective.  If we find a defective product, CPSC will warn the public and seek a recall as quickly as possible.

I appreciate the work of firefighters and leaders in New York City in raising concern and public awareness about the severity of lithium-ion battery fires.  Our investigators will continue to work closely with firefighting professionals to investigate the causes of such fires.  We are using this information to identify defective products and advance our product safety efforts. 

Whether a battery is installed in a bike, a cell phone, or a home appliance, or is mounted on the wall of an apartment building, it should not pose a fire risk to the people nearby.  Products that run on these batteries are becoming more and more prevalent in Americans’ lives and homes, so it is essential that we do all we can to diminish the risk of fires. 

CPSC Calls on Manufacturers to Comply with Safety Standards for Battery-Powered Products to Reduce the Risk of Injury and Death