Volvo C40 Recharge EV Catches Fire; What Happened Here?
As per Volvo, the embedded safety features of the car informed the driver to take the car aside and step out of the vehicle, and the owner fortunately managed to escape.
A Volvo C40 Recharge electric SUV burst into flames in chhattisgarh and it happened on a highway. The actual cause is yet to be revealed and Volvo is currently investigating. As per Volvo, the embedded safety features informed the driver to take the car aside and step out of the car and the owner has fortunately escaped.
The incident does again put the spotlight on EV safety, particularly in the issue regarding the battery of an electric vehicle- the main component in the car. The C40 Recharge comes with a 78kWh battery pack with a claimed range of 530 km on a single charge. The battery pack is a lithium-ion battery that has been integrated low within the chassis.
While the actual reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained and investigations are underway, the reason could be centered around the battery pack. EVs catching fire due to overheating. The primary reason is called 'Thermal Runaway' where batteries, which have energy with the lithium ions inside a battery cell, have been affected by short-circuits and result in a fire due to the cells heating up quickly.
Another reason could be due to driving the EV too fast or using the brakes too much which builds up heat. We will know the actual reason soon but other things to note are the fact that a Lithium Ion battery fire engulfs the car quickly and burns out longer. While carmakers have safeguarded battery packs, a fire does raise the question of the safety of EVs but do note that EV fires are less in comparison to conventional vehicle fires.
