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Earlier this month, a lithium battery explosion occurred in a Mercedes-Benz electric car in an underground parking lot in Incheon, South Korea, causing damage to 880 nearby cars and power outages for about 1,600 households for a week. This incident also triggered widespread distrust of electric cars in South Korea. To this end, the South Korean government issued a new guideline requiring electric vehicles to be charged no more than 90% when entering underground parking lots. However, this somewhat "nonsensical" policy has ignited dissatisfaction among electric car owners. Many experts and electric car users said that this restriction is unrealistic and a "stupid move" by the government in desperation.

80%、90%

According to South Korean media reports, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to allow only electric vehicles with less than 90% battery power to enter underground parking lots starting at the end of September. Fast charging stations in public parking lots will be subject to trial charging restrictions, with the maximum charge capacity controlled at 80%, and will be gradually extended to private operators.

At the same time, some areas restrict the use of electric vehicles in specific places until the relevant fire-fighting facilities meet the requirements. For example, H Shipping Company decided to stop loading electric vehicles on ships between Ulleungdo and Uljin from September 1 until the relevant fire-fighting equipment meets the requirements. Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, decided to provide subsidies for apartments that move underground charging facilities to the ground.

This is the latest restriction imposed by the South Korean government after an electric car caught fire earlier this month. The accident occurred on August 1. In Incheon, west of the South Korean capital Seoul, a Mercedes-Benz electric car parked in an underground parking lot of an apartment building began to emit smoke and caught fire a few seconds later. It was not until eight hours later that the fire was finally extinguished, and 23 residents were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Some residents were also forced to move to shelters due to power and water outages in the apartment.

The fire caused panic across South Korea. A spokesman for the Incheon Fire Department said that although the investigation into the fire accident is still ongoing, surveillance footage showed that the fire was caused by an electric car battery.

However, experts pointed out that the charging process of lithium-ion batteries is not the key to the fire problem, and overcharging is not the decisive factor in fires. Yoon Won-sub, a professor of energy science at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, pointed out that electric vehicles are designed to never be fully charged. Even if the dashboard shows that the battery is 100% full, the actual charge may only be around 80%. In addition, Yoon also pointed out that the claim that fully charged batteries are more likely to cause fires has not been confirmed. Data shows that of the 139 electric vehicle fires in South Korea in the past three years, only 26 occurred during charging.

In addition, many car owners find the "80%" and "90%" proposed by the South Korean government ridiculous because these two figures seem like random numbers decided on a whim. Others complain that the government never imposes any refueling restrictions when fuel cars catch fire, and that if it is really so dangerous, the South Korean government should not encourage people to buy electric cars in the first place.

Electric car phobia

South Korea is a major producer of electric vehicles, with local automakers Hyundai and Kia. Last year, electric vehicles accounted for 9.3% of new car sales in South Korea. At present, this series of events has had an impact on the electric vehicle market in South Korea. According to a report by South Korea's KBS TV station on August 13, the number of used electric vehicles for sale in the market has continued to increase. In the week since the Incheon fire, the registration volume of a used car trading platform in South Korea has increased by 184% compared with the previous week. In particular, the price of the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 model that caught fire this time has plummeted to around 50 million won (10 million won is about 52,700 yuan) on the used car trading platform.

South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo published an editorial saying that the number of electric vehicles in South Korea has now exceeded 500,000. As vehicles become more popular, the number of fires is also increasing. According to the Korean Fire Department, there were only 24 electric vehicle fires in 2021, but the number increased to 72 last year. Of the 139 electric vehicle fires that occurred in the past three years, 68 occurred during operation, and there were also fires that occurred while parking (36) and charging (26).

"Due to the series of electric car fire accidents in South Korea, the fear of electric cars is gradually increasing." The JoongAng Ilbo said that the phenomenon of "electric car NIMBY syndrome" surrounding the entry and parking of electric cars is also spreading. Some people even worry that the related industry will shrink due to people's reluctance to buy electric cars.

In addition, South Korea's three major electric vehicle battery manufacturers are also facing great performance pressure. In the second quarter of this year, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI's operating profits fell sharply year-on-year, while SK On has been in the red for 11 consecutive quarters.

However, according to the Hankyoreh, these adjustments also face some legal and practical challenges. For example, restrictions on electric vehicle performance may trigger legal disputes between consumers and manufacturers, and electric vehicle owners in some regions believe that they are being treated unfairly.

Therefore, experts in the electric vehicle field believe that the restrictions introduced by the South Korean government are more like psychological comfort. Car owners have criticized the plan from an economic perspective, saying that it violates people's property rights. Restricting charging means that the mileage of electric vehicles is also limited, and mileage is one of the most important factors for electric vehicle consumers. For example, the maximum mileage of a Tesla Model Y on a single charge is 350 kilometers. When fully charged, it can actually travel more than 330 kilometers. However, if calculated according to the 80% charging limit stipulated by South Korea, the Model Y can only travel about 250 kilometers each time it is fully charged.

Disclosure of battery information

In terms of industry, the incident also sparked calls for automakers to expand transparency in the power battery supply chain. The South Korean government said on August 13 that it would urge automakers to voluntarily disclose information about the brands of power batteries used in their electric vehicles. The government's Policy Coordination Office said in a statement that "such battery information has not been made available to the public so far, and the measure is intended to reduce fire anxiety among electric vehicle owners."

Previously, the Korean subsidiaries of Mercedes-Benz Group and BMW Group both disclosed the names of their electric vehicle battery suppliers.

Mercedes-Benz Korea's official website states that the company purchases battery cells from multiple manufacturers, but all electric vehicle batteries are produced by 100%-owned subsidiaries.

According to the table, its battery cells mainly come from South Korea's SK on, China's CATL and Farasis, and some older models have used LG's battery cells. BMW's official website lists that among the 11 models sold in South Korea, two use China's CATL, and the remaining 9 use Samsung SDI.

Kim Jonghoon, a professor at Chungnam National University in South Korea who studies electric vehicle management systems, said disclosing battery information is a small step toward solving the problem. "We also need to improve battery management systems to equip them with more sophisticated and earlier warning systems, and people's fear of electric vehicles will continue for some time."

In a report by Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, Lee Hyung-soo, a professor at the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Konkuk University in South Korea, said that public opinion focused on the dangers of electric vehicles in underground parking lots, but the more critical issue was the flaws in the fire protection system. The fire exposed the vulnerability of fire protection facilities in dealing with electric vehicle fires, and the failure of automatic sprinklers was also an important factor that led to the failure to control the fire in a timely manner.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Zhao Tianshu