In brief

• A Mercedes EQE EV in South Korea, equipped with a Chinese-made Farasis battery, spontaneously caught fire, causing extensive damage and injuries.

• Mercedes NZ has not disclosed how many of its EQE models in New Zealand may contain the same battery, leaving local owners in the dark.

• The incident raises concerns about EV safety, with increasing reports of EV fires overseas.

An EV fire in South Korea ignites safety concerns in NZ 

A Chinese EV battery at the heart of a major apartment building fire in South Korea this month appears to be used in Mercedes-Benz EV’s sold in New Zealand, but the company is not disclosing how many cars here may be affected.

A Mercedes EQE spontaneously combusted while parked underneath an apartment building, leaving 23 people in hospital and destroying 140 more cars in the resulting inferno.

Unanswered questions for Mercedes NZ owners

More than 700 people had to be evacuated from the building and 1,600 homes were left without power and water for up to a week as a result of the eight hour blaze.

The Mercedes EQE was not plugged into a charger at the time it ignited.

Centrist asked Mercedes NZ whether any of its imported EQE models were also using the Chinese-made Farasis EV battery that caused the massive fire, but Mercedes refused to say whether New Zealand customers are parking Farasis-powered cars in their garages each night.

Instead, Mercedes NZ just provided a copy of its statement to Korean media:

“We are deeply sorry for the incident caused in the resident area and the impacted residents in the apartment building and the vicinity. We take it very seriously and will immediately investigate the vehicle thoroughly in cooperation with authorities to determine the root cause so that the appropriate next steps can be taken accordingly.

“Until then, please understand that we cannot comment further.”

Rising concerns over EV fires

Mercedes NZ’s silence on how many Farasis-equipped EVs are on NZ roads may give Mercedes owners here sleepless nights, especially given the video that shows the spontaneous combustion happened in just seconds.

The luxury car brand is feeling heat of a different kind in Korea after what local media reported was a “half-hearted” response to the disaster initially. Mercedes has since offered NZ$5.5 million in compensation to apartment building residents, but the latter say that’s nowhere near enough.

The growing threat of EV battery fires

EV sales in South Korea have now tanked after another EV fire in a Kia EV6 just a few days after the Mercedes conflagration.

DW news agency reports there was more than one EV fire a week in South Korea last year:

“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.”

Seoul officials are now proposing a ban on charging electric vehicles in underground parking garages when the battery exceeds 90%. Also, new rules to limit fast charger capacity to 80% citywide will be in effect by September.