BMW, Ford and Hyundai are recalling tens of thousands of electric and semi-electric cars in Europe due to fire hazards. The batteries can spontaneously catch fire while charging or while driving.
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The fire hazard of large powerful electric car batteries has been known for some time. Movies of spontaneously igniting Teslas are regularly posted on the internet. The Dutch fire service previously warned of the danger of charging in parking garages because of the fierce fire that arises when an electric car catches fire. The risk was always downplayed.
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Plug-ins
But now it is different. In a matter of weeks, two car brands – BMW and Ford – are calling plug-in hybrids back to the garage and new ones are not being delivered for the time being. It is unclear why the cars are a fire hazard. Either the batteries are defective, or errors were made during installation, or the software that regulates charging and discharging is bad. The problem is widespread. BMW is recalling no fewer than twelve different hybrid models. Hyundai is recalling the electric Kona. Hyundai is recalling nearly 8,000 Kona’s to the garage in the Netherlands. A battery management software update should fix the issues, but parts may also need to be replaced. Globally, sixteen Hyundai Kona’s would have spontaneously caught fire since last year.
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With plug-in hybrids a lot is asked of the small batteries. Often they have to propel the entire car for the first 10, 20 kilometers, until the petrol engine takes over. If the software does not regulate this properly, the battery can get a bit of a mess, and once at the charging station, the electricity is not stored but is converted into heat. Until the battery becomes so hot that it starts a fire. Owners of the BMW and Ford hybrids are asked to stop charging the car with the cable. Ford does not foresee a quick fix and the owners of the affected Kuga series will receive a 500 euro voucher for petrol as compensation.
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Hybrids are relatively new to car companies. Toyota has been active with the technology for twenty years, but many brands have only been introducing plug-ins in recent years in order to meet European environmental requirements. There is great panic among the carmakers who are having problems with their hybrids, because electric and semi-electric driving is literally of vital importance. Without hybrids and electric cars, the cars on average emit too much CO2, which is severely fined by the European Union. To avoid fines, Fiat, for example, pays billions of euros to Tesla in exchange for CO2 rights. Tesla is also allowed to sell cars that emit exhaust fumes, but the fully electric cars run cleanly. The CO2 saved on paper can be traded.
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Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk may rub his hands because Ford also fears having to shop for CO2 rights now that sales of the Ford Kuga hybrid are stalled due to the fire risks. There were already seven fire incidents involving Kugas in Europe. A short circuit in the battery would be the cause. It cannot be ruled out that the battery cells themselves are not good. Car manufacturers buy well-known electronics companies such as Samsung and LG, but these companies are also working hard to meet the high demand.
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