All fires in electric vehicles in S. Korea this year involved Hyundai’s Kona Electric

Posted on : 2019-10-09 17:01 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Renault Samsung SM3 Z.E. and Hyundai Ioniq also among culprits
The Hyundai Kona Electric
The Hyundai Kona Electric

During the past five years, there have been a total of five incidents in which electric vehicles have caught fire in South Korea. This year, all the fires have occurred in the Kona Electric, a model produced by Hyundai.

Hong Cheol-ho, a lawmaker with the Liberty Korea Party, solicited data about fires in electric cars from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Oct. 8 as part of a parliamentary audit. The data show that, during the last five years (from January 2016 to August 2019), there have been five fires involving electric vehicles in the country, affecting Renault Samsung’s SM3 Z.E and Hyundai’s Ioniq and Kona.

All vehicles in question have batteries supplied by LG Chemical

An initial investigation by experts concluded that the three fires this year, all in the Kona Electric, were likely caused by the explosion of the high-power battery on the bottom of the car. All of the battery cells in the vehicle in question were supplied by LG Chemical, investigators found.

On Aug. 13, a Kona Electric caught fire while being charged in an underground parking level at an apartment in Sejong City and was completely destroyed. The wreckage was moved to the National Forensic Service, in Daejeon, for further study.

An on-scene investigation by staff from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority produced the opinion that the fire was caused by an explosion of the high-power battery on the bottom of the vehicle, but that further review would be necessary to determine exactly why that battery blew up.

Another fire in a Kona Electric that occurred in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 9 was presumably caused by an explosion in the same battery. “The flames began at the floor of the rear seat of the vehicle, which was parked at the time,” said investigators from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

A preliminary investigation resulted in an identical diagnosis for a Kona Electric that caught fire while charging in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on July 28.

The electric vehicle that caught fire in Gwangju on Jan. 15, 2016, was a Renault Samsung SM3 Z.E. The fire is presumed to have begun in the engine compartment and then spread to the rear of the vehicle. A fire in a Hyundai Ioniq electric vehicle that occurred in Daegu on Aug. 1, 2018, began in the battery below the trunk while the car was stopped.

Hyundai Motor Company and LG Chemical said they are waiting for the results of the National Forensic Service’s ongoing investigation of the accident.

“The conclusion reached in the SM3 electric vehicle accident in 2016 is that the fire wasn’t caused by the battery, and we’re still working to determine the exact cause of the other accidents. Since we’re still waiting for the results of the analysis, we can’t jump to any conclusions about the cause of the accident,” said a source at LG Chemical.

“We carried out our on-scene investigation by monitoring press reports and reviewing reports to call centers and technical and analytical data submitted by the manufacturer. We’re unable to provide the technical and analytical data because of the manufacturer’s request for confidentiality,” the Korea Transportation Safety Authority said. 

By Hong Dae-sun, staff reporter

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