Mercedes-Benz Korea reveals battery supplier list to calm anger, fears over EV fire
- The company said the EQE 350 that exploded into flames and damaged hundreds of vehicles had a battery from China’s Farasis Energy
The August 1 fire damaged hundreds of vehicles and created a national panic, with car parks across South Korea imposing a wave of ad hoc restrictions amid growing calls for transparency on battery supply chains.
South Korea is a major producer of batteries and electric vehicles, including local carmakers Hyundai and Kia, with EVs making up 9.3 per cent of new cars bought last year, higher than in the US.
“Although the analysis is still in progress, the CCTV footage suggests that this fire exhibits all the signs of being caused by a battery,” a spokesman at the Incheon Fire Department said.
According to experts, battery fires are tougher to extinguish than conventional ones due to the thermal runaway effect – a chain reaction within battery cells.
The Mercedes-Benz model EQE 350 that exploded into flames had a battery from Chinese manufacturer Farasis Energy, Mercedes Korea disclosed on its website Tuesday.
Local media have shown dramatic images of the car catching fire, causing a blaze that destroyed 40 vehicles in the parking space, with the fire department saying some 23 residents were hospitalised for smoke inhalation.
