There was a feeling of relief when Hyundai said that a folded anode tab caused the Kona Electric fires. It was also great that Hyundai decided to replace all possibly defective battery packs, but a recent fire in Norway made those feelings vanish. According to Avisa Oslo, the EV that burned was not included in the recall and was not supposed to present fire risks.
Avisa Oslo got in touch with the Kona Electric owner and discovered that the vehicle was first registered in Norway in November 2020. That means it was probably produced at Hyundai’s Nošovice plant in Czechia. Deliveries from the cars made there started in Europe on March 13, 2020.
Curiously, it was in November 2020 that the Kona Electric received its first restyling. The unit involved with the fire still had the old front end and was probably one of the last Hyundais sold in Norway before the refreshed vehicle hit the country’s dealerships.
Avisa Oslo also got in touch with Hyundai’s PR manager, Øyvind Knudsen, who confirmed the Kona Electric that caught fire on June 23 in Norway was not involved with the recall. He also said the cause for the blaze is under investigation and that they still have no idea what it was. The Kona Electric was not charging when the fire started.
Hyundai expects to be able to inspect the car as soon as the Oslo Fire Brigade declares that the vehicle can be taken out of the water container used to kill the fire. If the defect has nothing to do with the folded anode tab, that may bring investigations back to zero.
LG Energy Solution said that the folded anode tab had nothing to do with the fires and claimed that there was a “misapplication of the BMS charging map.” Although the supplier did not blame that issue for the fires, it said Hyundai made an “incorrect application of fast charging logic, proposed by LG Energy Solution, to the BMS.” Depending on what Hyundai discovers in the recent Norwegian blaze, that hypothesis could come back to the table.
Curiously, it was in November 2020 that the Kona Electric received its first restyling. The unit involved with the fire still had the old front end and was probably one of the last Hyundais sold in Norway before the refreshed vehicle hit the country’s dealerships.
Hyundai expects to be able to inspect the car as soon as the Oslo Fire Brigade declares that the vehicle can be taken out of the water container used to kill the fire. If the defect has nothing to do with the folded anode tab, that may bring investigations back to zero.
LG Energy Solution said that the folded anode tab had nothing to do with the fires and claimed that there was a “misapplication of the BMS charging map.” Although the supplier did not blame that issue for the fires, it said Hyundai made an “incorrect application of fast charging logic, proposed by LG Energy Solution, to the BMS.” Depending on what Hyundai discovers in the recent Norwegian blaze, that hypothesis could come back to the table.