Automakers face numerous challenges as they race to get electric vehicles to consumers ahead of regulatory and company deadlines for shifting production away from gas-powered vehicles. They face skepticism about the availability of charging stations, concerns about vehicle range and apprehensions over cost. Fires have drawn attention because of the high-profile recalls and blazes that followed product rollouts, writes The Washington Post (Aug. 4, 2021), further complicating the automakers’ calculations.
In San Francisco, a Tesla Model S (the expensive one) blew up in the owner’s garage, set fire to their second Tesla, and destroyed the million dollar home. “Gasoline driven cars don’t catch fire in the garage when they’re sitting there. And that’s the difference,” said the owner who has since witched brands. “I don’t worry about my Audi catching fire downstairs when it’s not running.”
The fire is one in a string of recent examples showing what can happen when electric cars are left parked in garages to charge overnight. The issue is causing mounting concern as a number of EV makers have warned owners not to leave the cars charging unattended in certain circumstances, or sitting fully charged in garages. “Battery fires can take up to 24 hours to extinguish,” Tesla’s website says. “Consider allowing the battery to burn while protecting exposures.”
Automakers including GM, Audi and Hyundai have recalled EVs over fire risks in recent years and have warned of the associated dangers. Chevrolet advised owners not to charge their vehicles overnight or keep their fully charged vehicles in garages. It recalled more than 60,000 of its Bolt EVs over concerns about the cars spontaneously combusting while parked with full batteries or charging, after reports of 5 fires. Hyundai advised owners to lower the maximum state of charge in their vehicles to 80%, and park outside until the state of charge is lowered. Battery-powered vehicles have not been shown to catch fire at rates higher than gasoline cars, but when fires do erupt, they burn longer and hotter, propelled by lithium-ion batteries that supercharge the blazes.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Will incidents like this impact the transition to EVs?
- How is this an issue for operations managers?