Huge Fire Sparked by a Mercedes-Benz EV Adds to Safety Concerns Dogging Industry

Blaze in South Korea prompts debate over whether electric vehicles should be allowed in the country’s ubiquitous underground parking lots

By Jiyoung Sohn and Soobin Kim of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The consternation in South Korea—home to Hyundai Motor, Kia and top battery makers—represents the latest test of faith for an EV industry dogged by safety concerns. Cars with internal combustion engines are more likely to catch fire than EVs, according to South Korea’s national fire agency. But when EVs do burst into flames, the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries get hotter and the fire takes longer to stamp out.

In recent years, General Motors recalled tens of thousands of its Chevrolet Bolts in the U.S. over risk of battery fires. Hyundai pulled roughly 80,000 electric sport-utility vehicles after roughly a dozen caught fire. Last September, a Nissan Leaf ignited while charging in Tennessee, and the fire required more than 45 times the water needed for a gas-powered-car fire to be extinguished."