South Korea to hold emergency meeting after EV fires raise safety concerns

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea plans to require electric vehicle (EV) makers to disclose the brand of batteries in cars due to safety concerns after a vehicle in an underground parking lot caught fire, causing extensive damage, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The transport ministry intended to amend laws to require car companies to identify battery manufacturers, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed transport ministry official.

Automakers in South Korea currently need to disclose certain information about vehicles, including size and fuel efficiency, but only limited details on batteries, such as power capacity, and do not have to cite the manufacturers, the newspaper said.

The transport ministry declined to give an immediate comment on the report.

Last week, a Mercedes-Benz (OTC:) electric sedan with batteries made by Chinese company Farasis Energy caught fire in the underground garage of an apartment in the South Korean city of Incheon, according to media reports.

The blaze took more than eight hours to extinguish and damaged about 140 cars and 23 people were hospitalised due to smoke inhalation, Yonhap news agency said.

Mercedes-Benz Korea said in a statement it took the incident very seriously and planned to cooperate with authorities to determine the cause.

Farasis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters in a report published in February said 1,399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022 with 43.7% attributed to vehicles. It said electrical sources accounted for 53% of car fires in underground garages.

“A series of EV fires occurring in underground parking lots have been linked to growing consumer distrust of EVs, which could prolong the current EV downturn,” said Esther Yim, an analyst at Samsung (KS:) Securities, adding that car and battery makers needed to come up with measures to reassure consumers.

Last month, Hyundai Motor (OTC:) said it would expand hybrid line-ups as demand for EVs eases globally.

Meanwhile, battery maker LG Energy Solution, whose customers include Tesla (NASDAQ:), General Motors (NYSE:) and Hyundai Motor among others, cut its annual sales target on a slowdown in global EV demand.