As A Result Of The Rise Of Electric Car Fires Seven Car Manufacturers In South Korea Releases EV Battery Information

JAKARTA - Following a major fire that broke out in the Mercedes-Benz electric sedan in the underground garage of an apartment in Incheon City, South Korea, seven car brands in South Korea since Tuesday, August 13 have released battery information for their electric vehicle (EV) models sold in the country.

This effort is to give public peace amid rising calls for battery transparency following major fires caused by electric cars recently in South Korea.

Yonhap News Agency reported, quoted Wednesday, August 14, as of Tuesday afternoon, three South Korean companies from Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp, and KG Mobility Corp as well as four foreign brands have released battery information for a total of 40 different models sold in the country. Of these, 14 models are equipped with Chinese-made batteries, accounting for 35 percent of the total.

All of this information can be seen on the manufacturer's website, for example Hyundai revealed a list of battery manufacturers used in its 13 EV models on the company's website. Except for Kona Electric, which uses battery cells from China's CATL, all Hyundai EVs are found to be equipped with battery products from LG Energy Solution Ltd. or SK On Co. South Korea.

Kia also revealed battery information for its EV on its website on Monday, following the disclosure of its sister, Hyundai Motor. Seven Kia EV models, including EV3, EV6, and EV9, use products from LG Energy Solution and SK On South Korea. But the latest models from A-segment Ray EV and several Niro EV compact crossover models are equipped with batteries from CATL.

KG Mobility also revealed on its website that the batteries used in its electric vehicles, Torres EVX and Korando EV, came from Chinese companies BYD.

Among foreign car manufacturers, BMW was the first to voluntarily disclose information. On Monday, BMW Korea revealed that its iX1 and iX3 electric SUVs were equipped with CATL batteries, while the iX, i4, i5, and i7 electric sedans used batteries from Samsung SDI.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea also released information on its electric vehicle brand. It is known, from the EQE electric line, only 300 are equipped with batteries from China's CATL. Another trim is 350+, AMG 53 4MATIC+, and 350 4MATIC equipped with batteries from Farasis Energy, a battery supplier on the Mercedes model that causes the fire. EQS 350, a high-end EV sedan model, also uses a battery from Farasis, while other trim EQSs have CATL batteries.

Swedish car manufacturers Volvo and Polestar have also provided their EV battery information on their websites and apps.