From time to time, we have seen news about manufacturers withdrawing certain electrified models due to the risk of fire in batteries. Perhaps the most notorious case is the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which cost General Motors hundreds of millions, but it’s not the only one: the Ford Kuga plug-in hybrid, Hyundai Kona or BMW plug-in hybrids had to be recalled because of the fire hazard.
Can it be said that fires are a risk to consider in an electric car? The probability is small, but it exists. However, there are data showing that the risk of fire in an electric car is much lower than in gasoline vehicles, according to a study that collected data from the United States National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Bureau of Traffic Statistics and call data for revision by the U.S. government.
According to data collected in the study, 52 fires were reported in electric vehicles in the United States in 2020, which is 25 fires for every 100,000 electric cars sold. However, there were 199,533 fires in gasoline cars, equivalent to 1,530 fires for every 100,000 cars sold. The study points out that fires in electric vehicles are much rarer than in petrol ones: according to data collected by AutoInsuranceEZ, the probability that petrol cars will catch fire is ten times higher than electric cars. The number is similar to the one published by Tesla some time ago, assuring that the fire is 11 times more likely to happen in a car on gasoline than in an electric one.
However, hybrid cars are most likely to be affected by the fire. 16,051 fires were recorded in cars of this type, which is equivalent to 3,474 fires for every 100,000 hybrid cars sold in the United States. The share is much higher than petrol and electric cars, which is logical on the other hand, considering that hybrids have two main flammable elements: fuel and batteries.
What is certain is that a fire in an electric car is usually much harder to put out due to the chemistry of the batteries because it can cause self-ignition of cells, extremely high temperatures and the possibility of subsequent ignition that require special intervention by firefighters.
source: AutoInsuranceEZ
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