Mercedes-Benz Korea disclosed its electric vehicle (EV) battery supplier on Aug. 13 after one of its cars exploded in a parking lot earlier this month.
On Aug. 1, in the underground parking lot of an apartment building in Incheon, west of Seoul, a Mercedes-Benz electric car burst into flames and caused a large fire that damaged or destroyed 140 cars and damaged the building. Some residents were forced to move to shelters.
In 2021, China’s BAIC Group recalled about 32,000 electric vehicles, and one of the reasons was that Farasis Energy’s batteries posed a fire risk.
Chinese EVs catching fire after accidents or as a result of spontaneous combustion have often been reported by Chinese media or posted on social media, igniting safety and quality concerns.
Taiwanese economist Huang Shicong told The Epoch Times on Aug. 15 that although China produces the most EV batteries in the world, the overall quality is problematic. “Explosion or fire often occurs because of poor quality,” he said.
When the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs catch fire, they can burn at temperatures much higher than in a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle and are often harder to put out. This is the result of the battery’s thermal runaway effect, which is a chain reaction within battery cells.
Chu Yueh-chung, an Assistant Professor of Finance at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, told The Epoch Times that most car makers around the world, including Tesla, use Chinese batteries. “However, there are many EV battery manufacturers in China, and their quality varies significantly.”
The Mercedes-Benz EQE 350’s sale price starts at about $67,000 in South Korea.
Huang said that many Western automakers use Chinese batteries to reduce costs. “If there’s no major accident caused by it, they will just use Chinese batteries,” he said.
To ease public anxiety caused by the car fire, South Korea announced on Aug. 13 it will ask automakers to voluntarily disclose battery information for EVs and will release comprehensive electric vehicle safety measures early next month.
Chu said that automakers should also take responsibility for quality control and their supply chains.
“This can only be done by the car manufacturers individually. For the sake of their own reputation and brand, they have to do the test themselves. The governments have no way to target specific quality issues,” he said.
