South Koreans hit the brakes on EVs after battery fires

A series of headline-grabbing car fires in South Korea are driving distrust of electric vehicles (EVs), in what local media have dubbed "EV-phobia."

South Korean officials met last week to discuss vehicle safety, and called on all car manufacturers to increase transparency and name their battery suppliers.

On August 1, a Mercedes-Benz EV caught fire in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in the city of Incheon. It took firefighters more than eight hours to extinguish the blaze. Twenty-three people required hospital treatment, around 140 vehicles were damaged, and 1,600 homes were affected by electricity and water outages for a week.

In separate incident several days later, a Kia EV6 burned out in a parking tower in South Chungcheong Province, with the blaze lasting more than 90 minutes before it could be brought under control.  

The cause of both fires is believed to have been the vehicles' batteries.

According to South Korea's National Fire Agency, there were 72 EV-related fires in 2023, up from 24 in 2021. Of the 130 incidents reported in the last three years, 68 vehicles caught fire while their engines were running, 36 while parked and 26 as they were being charged.

Chinese-made batteries in focus 

Much of the public concern is focused on the Chinese-made batteries that many auto manufacturers now use in their vehicles.

The Mercedes-Benz that caught fire in Incheon was fitted with a battery made by Farasis Energy, a little-known Chinese company.

"These are not isolated cases as there have been a series of similar fires in electric vehicles in recent months," said Song Young-chae, a South Korean professor of environmental engineering who lives in Seoul. He drives a conventional gasoline-powered car.

"After seeing the Incheon fire on television, I think people are worried and more reluctant than ever to buy an electric vehicle," he told DW.

EV producers pledge compensation, cut prices amid safety concerns

Responding to government calls for more transparency, carmakers have begun providing details of battery suppliers on their websites for the South Korean market.

This measure had not been required previously in South Korea, but is mandated elsewhere in the world, including the EU.

Mercedes-Benz Korea was initially criticized for what was seen as a half-hearted response to the Incheon fire, but now seems to be attempting to rebuild its reputation. 

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Mathias Vaitl on Wednesday evening spoke with around 150 residents of the apartment complex where the fire had broken out, pledging to consider additional financial assistance for those inconvenienced by the incident.

Mercedes-Benz initially announced that it would provide compensation of 4.5 billion won (€3 million; $3.4 million), although residents said that figure was not enough.

"We are keen and eager to support wherever it is necessary and to help people here affected by the incident," Vaitl told local reporters.

He added that the company is considering halting sales of the model of car that caught fire or announcing a recall, but that a final decision would be made after the cause of the incident is pinpointed.

Some carmakers have also responded to the public outcry by offering free inspections of electric vehicles, while others are attempting to overcome "EV phobia" by reducing prices.

The Korea Times reported that Audi Korea has cut the price of an Audi e-tron 55 quattro by more than 29% and by 24.5% for other models. BMW Korea is reducing the price of its iX xDrive 50 EV sedan by 12.9% and the i7 xDrive 60 by 12.7%.  

Consumers remain wary 

Despite the price cuts, the newspaper reported that the number of newly registered EVs in South Korea fell 13.4% in the seven months from January from the same period one year earlier.

Lee Eun-koo, who works for an NGO in Seoul, said she has been trying to convince her sister not to go ahead with plans to purchase an EV.

"She seems keen to go ahead because they are better for the environment, but I have to ask how safe they are because of these fires," she told DW. "I am hoping I can talk her out of it."

Park Jung-won, a professor of international Law at Dankook University, is similarly reluctant to trade in his conventional car for an EV.

"The manufacturers need to do more to ensure they are safe and the government has to make stronger rules," he said.

"Something has to be done because cars are such an important part of the Korean economy and news about fires caused by batteries will affect manufacturers and exporters," he told DW.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn 

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