South Korea officials meet to discuss EV fire safety norms
The fire on August 1 appears to have started spontaneously in a Mercedes-Benz EV parked below a residential apartment. The blaze damaged 140 cars and took about eight hours to control.
South Korean officials have met to discuss the safety of electric vehicles after an EV blaze damaged an apartment block in an underground garage, according to a Reuters report.
One of the agendas of the discussion was whether car firms should be required to disclose battery brands.
The fire on August 1 appears to have started spontaneously in a Mercedes-Benz EV parked below a residential apartment. The blaze damaged 140 cars, some of them irreversibly, and took about eight hours to control, with some residents forced to move to temporary shelters.
Earlier in August, Kia’s electric crossover EV6 with SK On’s batteries also caught fire in a parking lot.
Monday’s meeting was led by South Korea’s vice environment minister, with officials of the transport and industry ministries and the fire services in attendance. The government may announce new fire safety norms for EV vehicles.
The proposal to disclose battery brands used in EVs is likely to be discussed in another meeting between transport ministry officials and major automakers such as Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz Korea and Volkswagen Group Korea.
According to a report published in February, electrical sources were the cause of more than half of car fires in underground garages in South Korea between 2013 and 2022.
