New Delhi

In response to growing public unease following a recent electric vehicle (EV) fire incident, South Korean officials gathered on Monday to deliberate on EV safety measures and consider mandating automobile manufacturers to disclose battery brands. The urgent meeting was prompted by a fire that occurred on August 1, which appeared to ignite spontaneously in a Mercedes-Benz EV parked in an underground garage. The blaze resulted in extensive damage to an apartment complex, taking firefighters eight hours to extinguish and causing destruction or damage to approximately 140 vehicles. The incident forced some residents to seek temporary shelter elsewhere.

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The high-level meeting, led by the country's vice environment minister, brought together representatives from the transport and industry ministries, as well as the national fire agency. The government is expected to announce new regulations in the near future to address these safety concerns.

Following the emergency meeting, the transport ministry has scheduled talks with major automakers, including Hyundai Motor Group, Mercedes-Benz Korea, and Volkswagen Group Korea, for Tuesday. These discussions will focus on the proposal to require disclosure of battery brands used in EVs, according to media reports. As of now, the ministry has not provided immediate comment on these reports, and the automakers have yet to respond to requests for comment.

The widely circulated images of dozens of charred vehicles, reduced to mere metal frames in the parking lot fire, have intensified consumer fears regarding EVs. These concerns are particularly pronounced in South Korea, where a significant portion of the population resides in apartment complexes, often with underground parking facilities.

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Adding to the public's apprehension, another EV fire incident occurred earlier this month involving Kia Corp's electric crossover EV6, which uses batteries manufactured by South Korean company SK On. The vehicle caught fire in a parking lot, as reported by fire authorities.

Automotive experts note that EV fires differ from those in traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. EV fires tend to burn for longer periods and are more challenging to extinguish due to their tendency to reignite.

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A report published in February by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters revealed that between 2013 and 2022, 1,399 fires occurred in underground parking lots across South Korea. Of these incidents, 43.7 per cent were attributed to vehicles, with electrical sources accounting for 53 percent of car fires in underground garages.

Last week, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that South Korea was planning to require EV manufacturers to disclose the brand of batteries used in their vehicles. Currently, automakers are obligated to provide certain information about vehicles, such as fuel efficiency, but only limited details about batteries are required, and they are not mandated to name the manufacturers.

In response to numerous inquiries about EV battery makers, Hyundai Motor Co took the initiative on Saturday to identify the manufacturers of batteries used in their 13 EV models, including three models from its Genesis brand, on its website. The disclosure revealed that Hyundai and Genesis EVs utilise batteries from various companies, including South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) and SK On, as well as China's CATL.

Moon Hak-hoon, a professor of automotive engineering at Osan University, cautioned that merely requiring car companies to disclose the make of an EV battery would not prevent fires. He suggested that certifying the fire hazards of each battery brand would be more beneficial in addressing safety concerns.

Park Moon-woo, the lead author of a report on responding to EV fires in underground garages, acknowledged that disclosure would provide buyers with more options. However, he noted that currently, there is no definitive data indicating which EV battery brands are more susceptible to fires.

As South Korea grapples with these safety concerns, the government's forthcoming regulations and industry responses will likely play a crucial role in shaping consumer confidence in electric vehicles and influencing the future of EV adoption in the country.