Yahoo Autos Watch: Mercedes EV Explodes In Garage
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A Mercedes EQE all-electric car spontaneously combusted while sitting in an underground parking structure in Korea recently. It’s the latest example of why EV fires are so scary, thanks to their unpredictable nature and the intense heated generated by them.
Thieves keep hitting electric car charging stations.
Surveillance footage of the moment before the blaze started shows smoke billowing out of the luxury electric vehicle before it suddenly ignites in a glorious fireball. The spontaneous nature of the incident is most concerning.
As you can see in the footage, the Mercedes EV wasn’t charging at the time but instead was just parked. While there are cases of traditional gas-powered cars suddenly catching fire, they usually don’t ignite with such ferocity.
Plus, this fire burned so hot it damaged 140 vehicles in the garage and injured 23 people. Electricity and water outages due to the extensive damage displaced almost 500 households in the city. That is precisely why EV fires get so much attention
According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the batteries in the US-assembled EV came from Chinese company Farasis Energy. That information was reportedly supplied by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
That Chinese firm is apparently the eighth largest battery manufacturer in the world, so its products are widely used. It has a supplier agreement with Mercedes-Benz through 2028 and the two companies have been working on a joint EV battery development project.
However, BAIC Group, a Chinese automaker, had to recall 32,000 EVs which used Farasis batteries back in 2021 thanks to defects. We have no idea if that has anything to do with this fire, but it is enough to make one wonder.
This isn’t the first Mercedes EV spontaneous combustion story we’ve covered. About a year ago one caught fire suddenly while sitting in a house’s garage in Florida, badly damaging the home. That vehicle also wasn’t charging at the time and was a loaner provided by a dealership while the owner’s gas-powered Mercedes was being serviced.
Image via 두유노우
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