Mercedes-Benz Korea reveals battery supplier list to calm anger, fears over EV fire

The August 1 fire damaged hundreds of vehicles and created a national panic, with car parks across South Korea imposing a wave of ad hoc restrictions amid growing calls for transparency on battery supply chains.

South Korea is a major producer of batteries and electric vehicles, including local carmakers Hyundai and Kia, with EVs making up 9.3 per cent of new cars bought last year, higher than in the US.

“Although the analysis is still in progress, the CCTV footage suggests that this fire exhibits all the signs of being caused by a battery,” a spokesman at the Incheon Fire Department said.

According to experts, battery fires are tougher to extinguish than conventional ones due to the thermal runaway effect – a chain reaction within battery cells.

The Mercedes-Benz model EQE 350 that exploded into flames had a battery from Chinese manufacturer Farasis Energy, Mercedes Korea disclosed on its website Tuesday.

Local media have shown dramatic images of the car catching fire, causing a blaze that destroyed 40 vehicles in the parking space, with the fire department saying some 23 residents were hospitalised for smoke inhalation.

Fire authorities are investigating the deactivation of the car park’s sprinkler system in the fire’s initial minutes, with local media speculating a maintenance worker may have thought it had been activated in error.

The incident has heightened concerns about the safety of electric vehicles, prompting some apartment complexes to ban EVs from underground parking and to shut down charging stations.

Other Mercedes battery suppliers include South Korean companies LG Energy Solution and SK On and China’s CATL, the company revealed on Tuesday.

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