South Korea has asked automakers to identify the suppliers of batteries used in their electric vehicles, a government statement said on Tuesday, as authorities seek to calm public safety concerns after a series of fires involving EVs.
The South Korean units of Mercedes-Benz and BMW on Tuesday disclosed the names of their battery suppliers for the first time after an EV explosion prompted a nationwide safety investigation.
The German carmakers revealed the suppliers for their EV models on their websites, after Hyundai and Kia shared the names of their battery makers in recent days.
The moves came as government officials met with automakers on Tuesday to discuss short-term measures to prevent the risk of further EV fires.
“Such battery information has not been available to the public so far and the measure is to reduce EV owners’ fire anxiety,” the office of government policy coordination said in a statement.
Automakers are preemptively taking action to address growing fears over EV safety, after an unplugged electric Mercedes-Benz sedan caught fire at an apartment complex in Incheon on Aug 1.
The blaze, which appeared to start spontaneously in an underground lot at a residential building, took eight hours to extinguish, destroying or damaging about 140 cars and forcing some residents to move to shelters.
Full disclosure of EV battery manufacturers is a rare move by carmakers as the information is typically kept confidential around the globe.
While Mercedes did not specify which company made the battery in the car involved in the fire, local media identified it as Farasis Energy, based in China. The transport ministry has advised Mercedes to conduct a special inspection of the vehicle in question, reports say.
Mercedes-Benz Korea is offering free inspections for all of its EV models, it said in a statement. Separately, the company announced plans to donate about 4.5 billion won ($3.3 million) to help residents affected by the explosion, even though the investigation into the fire is still under way.
Farasis was ranked 15th among the global battery makers, according to a BloombergNEF estimate of manufacturing capacity between 2023-25. It began supplying batteries to Mercedes-Benz in 2018 as part of an eight-year contract with the German carmaker becoming a strategic investor in the company in 2020, some of the reports said. Farasis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Experts say requiring car companies to identify the batteries they use would give consumers more choice, but they question how it would improve safety given the lack of definitive data on which battery brands are more prone to fires.
“It’s difficult to tell at this point whether Farasis batteries are the problem, but there’s a general sentiment that the risk is higher with smaller battery makers than major producers like CATL or Korean makers,” said Yoon Joonwon, a fund manager at DS Asset Management in Seoul.
“Until the issue is resolved, consumer sentiment toward EVs is expected to remain deteriorated for some time.”