While electric vehicles continue to be more widely accepted across the United States, some worries still linger that hinder widespread adoption, including range anxiety, pricing, and fire risk. In regard to EV fires, it now appears as though the risk isn’t as prevalent as originally thought.
According to a report from The Guardian, the thought process behind EV fires can be broken down into two categories; electric vehicle fires are more common, and are more damaging. However, as all-electric vehicles continue to amass more history and data, evidence is beginning to show that there is nothing pointing to EVs being more susceptible to fires, and that ICE-powered vehicles may actually be more prone to combusting.
“All the data shows that EVs are just much, much less likely to set on fire than their petrol equivalent,” Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Head of Transport Colin Walker claimed in a prepared statement. “The many, many fires that you have for petrol or diesel cars just aren’t reported.”
When looking at vehicle fires in Norway – which boasts the largest percentage of EVs – it was found that there were four to five times more fires in ICE-powered vehicles as compared to their EV counterparts. More specifically, there were 3.8 fires per 100,000 electric or hybrid cars in 2022, with 68 fires per 100,000 cars of all fuel types.
It’s worth noting that the latter figures include cases of arson, which could skew the data.
One of the more notable instances of electric vehicle fires in the United States came in the form of the Chevy Bolt EV. Back in April 2021, General Motors recalled 69,000 examples of the 2017-2019 Bolt EV over concerns of the battery pack overheating and suddenly bursting into flames. GM even went as far as to advise owners to park their vehicle outside and away from covered structures.
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Comments
It also depends on the severity of the fire. I remember reading about a Honda Fit recall about 10 years ago. The front driver and passenger windows weren’t sufficiently waterproofed, so rain could enter the vehicle’s door and cause an electrical fire. Is that bad? Yeah, completely unacceptable. Is it the same as a catastrophic thermal runaway battery fire that engulfs the car within seconds? No. Not even close. One can be put out with a portable fire extinguisher. The other cannot be extinguished by firefighters and needs to burn itself out.
Hmm, look at the source, “Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Head of Transport Colin Walker claimed in a prepared statement.” Color me skeptical.
Lies!!!
They are forgetting 2 things, 1, car fires are predominantly in older vehicles that have loose/frayed wiring. 2, Land Rover contracts their EV’s out to china.
As EV’s age, we will see massive increases in fires. Lithium is the only substance known to man to be able to just combust for no apparent reason just sitting idly. It even burns in contact with water.
Well to be fair, not true. Na and K also react violently with water. All the “metals” in the first column do. That one free electron is very reactive. I also recall in high school chem the sodium was kept in a jar of I think oil. I don’t think we had K or Li in high school. I remember acids too. HCl was bad, sulfuric was worse, and nitric was downright dangerous.
Curious how none of the Media will admit or report that Lithium is a known neurotoxin and here is our wonderful Government introducing more and more of it into the Environment that they claim they are trying to “protect” !
100% less likely to light a fire in the heart and soul of the driver/FACT
What another total load of Male Bovine Excrement from some biased, paid-for Lobbyists.
ICE vehicles do not spontaneously combust while sitting still without their engines running to pump fuel to an ignition source while Li battery-powered EV’s are notorious for it either while being charged or simply sitting still, or when in use and experiencing thermal runaway.
Ask a firefighter with experience which fire-source they would have the most trouble extinguishing and ask tow-truck drivers/operators and salvage yard owners if they will accept or tow EV’s that have experienced a fire and are prone to re-ignite at any time !
Getting so tired of reading this Horse hockey that the damned lobbyist liars are spin-doctoring and spreading.
There are hundreds of millions more ICE than EV yet EVs disproportionately combust for no reason.
I will say this: I would not want to be a maritime worker on an unregulated, dirty, polluting cargo ship hauling EV, judging by the news reports of brand new EV spontaneously combusting out there in the middle of the ocean. Very scary scenario that has already happened too often. This is an inconvenient fact for Al Gore followers to digest.