Massive EV Fire In Korea Sparks Huge Concerns About EV Safety
The South Korean environment ministry will hold an emergency meeting next week after a Mercedes-Benz EV caught fire, hospitalizing 23 people.
The government will announce “comprehensive measures regarding EV fires soon,” per Reuters. Sources suggest that the South Korean government will also require manufacturers of EVs to disclose the brand of battery in a car as part of the measures taken. In the country, automakers need to provide other detailed information about their cars, like fuel economy but must disclose relatively little information about the batteries being used.
The Mercedes that caught fire burned for more than eight hours, per Korean media, and a total of 140 cars were destroyed in addition to the 23 hospitalizations. The batteries were made by a Chinese company, Farsis Energy, and the manufacturer has not responded to Reuter’s requests for comment. More stringent regulations inside South Korea could affect Hyundai and Kia models overseas, especially if the Korean government begins to legislate the manufacturer’s battery supply chain to some degree.
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Chase is an automotive journalist with years of experience in the industry. He writes for outlets like Edmunds and AutoGuide, among many others. When not writing, Chase is in front of the camera over at The Overrun, his YouTube channel run alongside his friend and co-host Jobe Teehan. If he's not writing reviews of the latest in cars or producing industry coverage, Chase is at home in the driver's seat of his own (usually German) sports cars.
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Is there a study measuring the number of fires per battery by manufacturer?