Electric Car Catches Fire While Parked: An Analysis

KatadataOTO – Recently, a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N unit caught fire while parked and not charging. This has raised questions from many parties.

It also certainly raises concerns for the surrounding community. This is because at the time of the incident, the car was reportedly in an inactive state.

Speculation circulating is that there was a problem with the battery, leading to a short circuit and causing the electric car to catch fire.

However, the electric car safety certification and training institution, EVSafe Indonesia, believes that the battery is not always the main cause of Electric Vehicle (EV) fires.

Photo: Tiktok @officiallambeturah2

“The most recent incident in Medan, from my observation, was a fire caused by regular or low-voltage electricity. So it was not caused by the high-voltage battery,” said Mahaendra Gofar, Founder of EVSafe Indonesia to KatadataOTO, Wednesday (14/01).

On the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N that caught fire some time ago, the fire originated from the rear of the vehicle before spreading to the entire passenger cabin. It was then extinguished within 30 minutes with no reports of the fire re-igniting.

He believes the battery was not the cause, because a fire incident triggered by the power storage unit would take much longer to extinguish and the fire would have the potential to reignite.

The damage pattern is identical to a fire caused by the low-voltage electrical system or supporting electronic components, located at the rear of the vehicle.

He further explained that at the time of the incident, the car was parked at a workshop, not in a garage area. It is possible that the car was undergoing repairs or even modifications.

“Because it was not at an official workshop, it is unknown whether the manufacturer's SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) was followed correctly,” said Mahaendra.

Photo: Instagram @bdg.siaga113.uptselatan

Electric car fires in Indonesia are still few and far between. So far, the causes have often been external factors.

To avoid this, there are several things that can be done. For example, do not perform modifications at just any workshop without considering competency standards.

If you want to make changes to an electric vehicle, ensure that the workshop and its technicians are certified and understand the car.