Last month, a Mercedes-Benz EQE spontaneously combusted in an underground parking lot in Seoul, South Korea. The resultant fire damaged at least 140 cars, 70 of them more seriously, before it was brought under control. Subsequently, South Korea is considering banning EVs from underground parking lots, with restrictions currently in place on cars entering such facilities if they’re carrying more than 90% SOC.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns in China over NEV safety. Earlier this week, a Radisson Hotel in the Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou banned NEVs from entering its underground parking lot. Furthermore, one of the biggest claims from detractors of Chinese NEVs is that they are simply not as safe as their counterparts from other countries. So, how safe are Chinese NEVs?
Surprisingly, it is very difficult to draw a solid conclusion. Although various jurisdictions provide data comparing the fire rate of EVs and ICE cars, what is included and what is not often varies widely. What seems universal, though, is that NEVs appear to be safer than ICE cars when it comes to fire risk.
Fast Technology, in an article, states that statistics show the Incidence of fire among NEVs has reduced from 1.85 per 10,000 in 2021 to 0.96 per 10,000 in 2023. Unfortunately, the source of this data is not revealed. Furthermore, the article says that the rate for ICE vehicles is about 1.5 per 10,000.
However, this result does not appear so good when compared against statistics from other places. According to Norway, the incidence of fires among petrol and diesel vehicles is four to five times higher than that of new energy vehicles. Meanwhile, the Guardian uses data from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency to say that in 2022, there were 3.8 fires per 100,000 vehicles for electric or hybrid cars versus 68 per 100,000 for all fuel types. This latter figure, though, includes arson making any direct comparison very difficult. The Guardian also quoted Australian Fire safety figures as saying there was a 0.0012% chance of a passenger electric vehicle battery catching fire, compared with a 0.1% chance for internal combustion engine cars.
Editor’s note:
We can say fairly conclusively that NEVs in China seem to have a better safety record then ICEs with regard to catching fire. What is not so clear is whether they are as safe as EVs elsewhere, with indications suggesting that the answer is probably no. However, without knowing exactly what the statistics include and do not include it would be premature to make such a conclusion. What might be the case is that because the Chinese statistics are for new energy vehicles, which include both BEV and PHEV, meaning the statistics may not be directly comparable with some of those in other countries. Presumably, the mix of PHEV versus BEV will also affect the actual figure.
Sources: Fast Technology, The Guardian
