Parked Mercedes Benz Electric Car Explodes: 23 In Hospital
Mercedes Benz has been among the first mainstream luxury car brands to bet big on electric cars, and the German luxury car giant sells a slew of electric models including the flagship EQS (which is based on the S-Class). Mercedes Benz has come under fire quite literally over the last week as one of its electric cars exploded in an apartment complex at South Korea, leading to the hospitalization of no less than 23 people. Here’s a video that shows the fiery explosion.
The explosion happened at a basement parking lot in South Korea’s Incheon, a city that’s 20 kilometers away from capital Seoul. Notably, the Mercedes Benz EQE that exploded had been parked in the basement for 3 days, and wasn’t being charged when the explosion happened.
As seen in the video, smoke first billows from the Mercedes Benz EQE sedan, post which there’s a fiery explosion. The aftermath of the explosion is said to have damaged no less than 140 cars parked in the basement.
While 103 residents staying in the apartment complex’s other buildings were evacuated, 23 people living in the same building where the explosion happened had to be hospitalized after inhaling the acrid, black smoke emanating from the burning Mercedes Benz EQE electric car.
Over 500 households in the apartment complex had to go without electricity and water supply for 5 days after the incident as the fire gutted electric lines and water supply motors.
Another EV Fire Breaks Out In South Korea
Close on the heels of the Mercedes Benz EQE electric car exploding, a Kia eV6 electric crossover caught fire in South Korea. The video above gives you all the information of what really happened.
Made-In-China Batteries Come Under Scrutiny
Reports suggest that the Mercedes Benz EQE electric luxury sedan that exploded was built in China, and was said to be using Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) cells that were sourced from Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer Farasis Energy.
Notably, Daimler, Mercedes Benz’s parent company, has a 3 % stake in Farasis Energy, 50 % of whose battery production goes to Mercedes Benz electric cars.
This is not the first time that electric batteries made by Farasis Energy has come under the scanner. In fact, Chinese car maker that’s best known for electric cars, BYD, had to recall 32,000 electric cars in 2021 for faulty batteries supplied by Farasis Energy.
Meanwhile, here’s what Mercedes Benz Korea had to say about the EQE fire,
The Mercedes Benz EQE luxury sedan (the electric version of the E-Class) is also made in Germany, but the German version uses batteries from CATL, another Chinese battery maker. Following the explosion and fire, car buyers in South Korea are now demanding that manufacturers reveal the source of batteries in electric cars.
In fact, even regulatory authorities in South Korea are pushing for a new EV battery safety certification system that kicks in from 2025. Under this, electric car makers will have to certify that the batteries used in their cars meet safety standards. However, car buyers in South Korea now want regulators to mandate that car makers specify the origin of batteries used in electric cars along with documentation that certifies safety.
The European Union has mandated that from 2026, all electric car makers have to disclose battery manufacturer information to consumers. Also, a battery passport system is being put into place, which will digitize information about the entire life cycle of batteries, including production, use, disposal, reuse and recycling.