SEOUL – South Korea will make it mandatory for electric carmakers to disclose the names of their battery suppliers and manufacturing technology, in an effort to alleviate concerns over electric vehicle (EV) battery fires.
The measures aim “to resolve public concerns and to secure the safety of electric vehicles” after an EV caught fire in August in an underground carpark in Incheon, west of Seoul, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement on Sept 6.
The full disclosure of EV battery manufacturers is a rare move by carmakers as the information is typically kept confidential around the globe.
The government will also bring forward testing of a certification system for EV batteries to October, from a previously scheduled start date of February 2025.
In other steps, it will expand the range of EV battery inspections to mandatory car inspections which owners need to get on a regular basis, and push to raise insurance subscriptions by EV manufacturers and battery charging operators.
Automakers including Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the Korean units of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BMW AG, and Tesla have already taken action to address rising fears over EV safety.
The August incident, in which a Mercedes-Benz sedan caught fire at an apartment complex, led to the evacuation of 200 families and triggered calls for stricter government measures on EVs.
To strengthen safety in parking garages, the government will require underground carparks in newly constructed buildings to install wet sprinklers.
In existing buildings, South Korea will reinforce inspection of sprinklers in basement parking garages.
More EV firefighting equipment will be provided to fire stations in 2025, and automakers including Hyundai and Kia will be asked to install battery management systems on older model EVs and to provide free updates to EVs which already have the systems installed. BLOOMBERG
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 17:14:00
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