Electric cars have a bad reputation when it comes to fire safety. However, an American study shows that the real fire hazard is not the pure electric car, but the hybrid. The EV is actually the safest.
According to analysts at AutoInsuranceEZ, hybrids are even more likely to catch fire than electric cars and cars with a combustion engine combined. They took data from the National Transportation Safety Board and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Association and compared it with sales data by car category. This shows that EVs in the US are considerably less likely to catch fire than cars with an internal combustion engine on board.
Hybrid models lead the way when it comes to fire hazards. Hybrids were involved in about 3,475 fires per 100,000 cars sold last year. Petrol cars caught fire about 1,530 times in the same amount, but electric cars only had 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold. The picture is not completely identical to the European situation because of other brands and models, but the difference is very large.
It is not officially known why hybrids catch fire relatively often. What is certain is that a lot is asked of the small batteries with plug-in hybrids. Often they have to propel the entire car for the first 10 or 20 kilometers until the petrol engine takes over. If the software does not regulate this properly, the battery can get a blow, so that once at the charging station, the electricity is not stored, but is converted into heat.
extinguishing
With this study, one major objection to EVs seems to have been resolved. However, the bad reputation of the electric car in this area is not only caused by the alleged frequency, but also because the cars are said to be difficult to extinguish. That is true, but there are also caveats to be added.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl