According to a report by Reuters, the South Korean government will urge automakers operating in the country to identify batteries used in their electric vehicles (EVs). This comes after a series of fires involving EVs that has caused safety concerns among the public.
“Such battery information has not been available to the public so far and the measure is to reduce EV owners’ fire anxiety,” the office of government policy coordination said in a statement.
On August 1, 2024, a Mercedes-Benz EV with batteries from Farasis Energy spontaneously burst into flames in an underground parking lot in the city of Incheon. The blaze took eight hours to extinguish and destroyed or damaged about 140 cars as well as forcing some residents in the apartments above to move to shelters.
Since the incident, a few car companies in the country have begun listing the manufacturers of batteries used in their EVs. For instance, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis revealed it uses batteries made by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK On, as well as China’s CATL. Foreign makes such as BMW mainly use Samsung SDI and CATL batteries, while Mercedes-Benz source theirs from LG Energy Solution, SK On, CATL as well as China-based Farasis.
Experts say that while getting car companies to reveal the source of batteries is empowering to consumers as it gives them more choices, they question how it would improve safety given the lack of definitive data on which battery brands are more prone to fires.
The Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters said in a report published in February that 1,399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022, with 43.7% involving vehicles, with electrical sources accounting for 53% of car fires in underground garages.
The post South Korea urges automakers to reveal sources of batteries used in EVs following series of fires appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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