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The Study Was Conducted Based on the Fire Rates Recorded by the US Department of Transportation, Where There Is a Greater Presence of Electric Cars and Combustion
After a study conducted by the American website AutoInsuranceEZA at the end of December 2021, it was found that the chance of gasoline-powered cars catching fire is 10 times greater than that of electric cars. In this study, data from the National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the BTS, both agencies linked to the US Department of Transportation, were crossed with data issued by the website Recalls.gov, also linked to the White House, to better understand the real risks of fire in models of electric, hybrid, and gasoline-powered cars.
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In the AutoInsuranceEZA study, using a sampling method, it was identified that for every 100,000 hybrid cars sold in 2021, about 3,474 experienced some type of fire, totaling 16,051 incidents.
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For combustion cars, for every 100,000 models sold, 1,529 fire incidents were recorded, totaling 199,533 incidents. In contrast, for electric cars, the number of incidents recorded was minimal, as for every 100,000 models sold, only 25.1 fires were recorded, with a total of 52 in 2021.
The high number of fire cases in hybrid models, according to the study, may be attributed to the combustion of gasoline in the engine, where energy is also generated.
Recall of Vehicles with Electrical Problems and Challenges in Controlling Fires in Electrified Models
The AutoInsuranceEZ study also related recall data for vehicles in the US in 2020, with the majority being for combustion cars. About 430,000 Hyundai Elantras had to be recalled due to electrical problems, unlike the 82,000 Hyundai Konas that were pulled from the market due to battery failures.
Even though the number of incidents in electric cars is low, extinguishing a fire in this type of model is more difficult, remaining a significant problem. This happens due to lithium-ion batteries, especially when installed in EV models (electric motorcycles), which become much harder to remove than in an electric car.
According to the website, many firefighters are still not familiar with incidents in EVs. In any case, since the batteries are the vehicle’s power source, they can burn for many hours, making it even more challenging to cool them down.
Are Electric Cars Really Safe?
Electric cars continue to evolve significantly, bringing more comfort and safety to the driver and passengers. According to the study, even with the incidents, electric models are not more dangerous than gasoline-powered models, confirming this theory based on the fire rates – which were presented throughout the study – of both models.
Manufacturers and dealerships continue to work to further improve electric models, both internally and visually, to better meet consumer requirements.
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