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recently, hotels and commercial buildings in hangzhou, ningbo and other places have banned new energy vehicles from entering underground garages, which has confused and even dissatisfied many car owners. with the popularity of new energy vehicles, parking lot management and safety issues have gradually entered the public eye. this parking ban not only involves the parking rights of car owners, but also triggers extensive discussions on the safety of new energy vehicles.

parking ban in many places: safety consideration or overreaction?

in early september, some netizens reported that the radisson hotel in xiaoshan district, hangzhou, zhejiang, banned new energy vehicles from entering the underground garage and instead guided vehicles to park in designated wide-body parking spaces on the ground. the hotel explained that this measure was taken to ensure fire safety because the underground garage was confined. the hotel's security guards also displayed a notice board warning that new energy vehicles may pose a fire hazard and mentioned several new energy vehicle spontaneous combustion incidents in guangzhou and south korea.

a similar situation also occurred in ningbo, zhejiang. on august 21, ningbo huigang building issued a notice requiring new energy vehicles to be parked on the ground and not allowed to enter the underground garage. the building owner believes that for safety reasons and parking space saturation, prohibiting new energy vehicles from entering the underground space is a reasonable management measure.

fire risk arouses concern: battery thermal runaway becomes a hidden danger

in recent years, reports of spontaneous combustion of new energy vehicles have been common. according to relevant data, as of june 2024, my country has reported more than 1,630 new energy vehicle fire accidents. a fire broke out in an underground parking lot in a community in huizhou, guangdong in august. the investigation showed that the cause of the fire was a thermal runaway of a battery in a new energy vehicle parked in the basement. this incident once again triggered public concerns about the safety of new energy vehicles.

in addition, a total of 440,000 new energy vehicles were recalled in china in 2024 due to the potential fire risk of power batteries. industry experts pointed out that the common cause of fires in new energy vehicles is battery thermal runaway, including internal battery short circuits, overcharging and other problems. although new energy vehicle technology is becoming more mature, the safety of charging facilities still needs to be strengthened.

legal aspect: is the parking ban legal? who should pay if the car catches fire?

in the face of the ban on new energy vehicles in underground garages, legal experts have also spoken out. zhang juqiang, senior partner of shanghai duanhe duan (chengdu) law firm, said that according to the provisions of the civil code and the fire protection law, property service providers (property management companies) do have the responsibility to maintain fire safety in the property service area and take reasonable measures to deal with potential fire risks. however, this responsibility does not mean that property service providers can unilaterally formulate unreasonable management measures, especially measures that may restrict the legitimate rights and interests of owners.

if there is a problem of compensation for spontaneous combustion, lawyer zhang replied that it depends on the situation. specifically, it can be divided into two situations: one is the compensation for the spontaneous combustion vehicle itself, and the other is the compensation for the damaged vehicles. first, for the compensation of the spontaneous combustion vehicle itself, the owner can use the insurance that he purchased.commercial insurance（car damage insurance) to claim from the insurance company. if the vehicle is within the warranty period or there is definite evidence that there is a quality problem with the vehicle, you can also claim from the vehicle manufacturer or dealer. secondly, regarding the compensation issue for the damaged vehicle, the owner of the damaged vehicle has the right to claim from the owner of the vehicle that caught fire.

citizens’ response: a trade-off between safety and convenience

citizens have different opinions on whether new energy vehicles should enter underground garages. some car owners believe that the ban on parking new energy vehicles is discriminatory and that this practice is not conducive to the promotion of new energy vehicles. especially with the current shortage of urban parking space resources, many citizens said that banning new energy vehicles from parking in underground garages will further aggravate parking problems.

when interviewed by cover news, ms. zhou expressed her opposition: "new energy vehicles will definitely become more and more popular in the future. the reasonable way should be to provide a safer environment. for example, improve some charging equipment or divide parking areas."

another mr. yang expressed neutrality, "now new energy is promoting a solid-state battery, which will be safer than the current liquid battery. after it is officially popularized, these will no longer be a problem."

but some citizens support this move. mr. li believes that if a fire occurs in the garage, the inconvenience of rescue will have very serious consequences for the community and other fuel vehicles, so arranging new energy vehicles to park on the ground is a reasonable preventive measure.

the ban on parking new energy vehicles in underground garages reflects the challenges brought by emerging technologies and the gaps in management. with the popularization of new energy vehicles, how to reasonably plan parking management while ensuring safety is an issue that all sectors of society need to discuss and solve together. in this process, improving laws and regulations, strengthening facility construction, and enhancing safety awareness will be the key to promoting the healthy development of the new energy vehicle industry.

cover news reporter li sijing and intern reporter liu luqian

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