South Korea Bans Fully Charged Electric Vehicles Entering Underground Garages

The South Korean authorities decided to take tough measures after the Mercedes EQE crash. In Seoul, they are preparing a new law that will prohibit underground garages for all-electric vehicles whose batteries are charged to more than 90 percent capacity. Also, they will try to limit charging at fast public chargers to 80 percent of capacity.

The reason for such moves is the event that happened earlier this month when a Mercedes EQE, which was parked in an underground garage, spontaneously combusted. The epilogue was damaged to 880 vehicles, and 1,600 households were left without electricity and water for up to a week.

Korea’s JoongAng Daily reports that the law will take effect by the end of September.

Many electric vehicle experts in the country oppose the rules. According to Professor Yoon Won-sub, who heads the battery research center run by Sungkyunkwan University and Samsung SDI, no evidence that fully charged batteries pose a greater risk of catching fire.

“Overfilling is not the deciding factor in a fire,” he said. “Electric cars are designed from the outset never to reach full charge, even if the dashboard says they’re at 100 percent. The argument that batteries carry a greater risk of fire when fully charged is unproven. It seems a bit like ‘hunting. on witches that block the entry of electric vehicle owners whose cars are 90 percent charged. It is important to devise appropriate countermeasures after a thorough discussion among experts.”

Of the 139 electric vehicle fires reported in South Korea over the past three years, only 26 occurred while the car was charging. In comparison, 68 fires started while the vehicle was in motion, while another 36 occurred while the EV was parked.

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