Korean BEV Fire Fears Sees Call for Battery Makers to Be Named

Government officials in South Korea are holding emergency meetings in a bid to calm fears about battery-electric vehicle fires after a Mercedes-Benz vehicle burst into flames in an underground carpark, seriously damaging a residential apartment block.

CCTV footage from the car park apparently shows the car, thought to be a Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan (the only BEV the German automaker markets in the country) spontaneously combusts while parked, causing a fire that took about eight hours to extinguish, damaging 140 other vehicles and forcing apartment block residents to evacuate to shelters, Reuters reports.

Now there are mounting calls for automakers to reveal which company has made a BEV’s battery pack to keep a record of safety issues. The Mercedes-Benz model involved used a pack made by the Chinese company Farasis.

A government official says the country's environment vice minister is leading crisis talks between the transport and industry ministries and the national fire agency, with the government expected to announce new rules soon.

Automakers trading in South Korea, including Hyundai Motor Group, Mercedes-Benz Korea and Volkswagen Group Korea, will also meet with transport officials to discuss the proposal to disclose battery brands used in BEVs, according to local media reports.

A report published in February by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters says 1,399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022, with 43.7% attributed to vehicles. It said electric sources are blamed for 53% of car fires in underground garages.