South Korea asks automakers to name and blame battery suppliers after electric car fires
A recent high-profile electric vehicle (EV) fire has prompted the South Korean government to require automakers to disclose the identities of their battery suppliers to allay fears of future incidents.
Earlier this month, a Mercedes-Benz electric car caught fire in the underground parking lot of an apartment building, damaging at least 70 other cars and sending more than a dozen people to the hospital.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, although Reuters South Korean lawmakers are keen to find out which car companies are using whose batteries.
“So far, information about such batteries has not been made public and this measure is to alleviate electric vehicle owners’ concerns about fires,” a statement sent to Reuters from the South Korean government’s office for policy coordination said.
Hyundai is one of the first automakers to do so, announcing a list of its electric vehicle and battery suppliers, which mainly includes South Korean companies SK On and LG Energy Solution, as well as Chinese giant CATL.
Sibling brand Kia and luxury brand Genesis share suppliers with Hyundai, while BMW counts Samsung SDI as its main supplier in Korea.
The Mercedes-Benz electric car that caught fire earlier this month was reportedly supplied by Chinese electric vehicle specialist Farasis Energy, although the company also uses SK On, LG Energy Solution and CATL.
According to ReutersLGES, SK On and Samsung SDI declined the publication’s request for comment on electric vehicles using their batteries, while CATL and Farasis did not respond to the publication’s request.
EV FireSafe, an Australian company that compiles data on vehicle fires globally, found that there have been 511 fires caused by loss of temperature control in electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) batteries reported worldwide between 2010 and the end of June 2024 – not including the most recent fire in South Korea.
