Photo: HNDNews
While BYD and Tesla discuss which of them is the world’s largest EV seller, Wuling could not care less. The Chinese company has one of the world’s best-selling electric cars, the Hongguang Mini EV, which sold 395,451 units in 2021. The affordable little EV was considered free of fire risks because it uses LFP batteries, which are not prone to thermal runaways. It was the case until June 30, when a test-drive unit caught fire while charging.
The incident happened in Haikou, China, at around 8 PM local time. According to HNDNews, the firefighters arrived quickly at the scene and killed the fire with relatively little effort. If the battery pack were involved, they would probably have spent a lot more time on the task.
HNDNews shared some images of the vehicle, which belongs to the GameBoy special edition. The Wuling is amazingly well preserved: only its front looks affected, more on the left side than on the right. Considering the charging port is right under the Wuling badge in the front grille, right in the middle of the front end, the issue must have started in a component installed on the left side of the vehicle.
According to the Chinese outlet, the LFP battery pack – placed under the floor of the electric car – was not affected. The pictures that HNDNews published show that pretty well. The fire also affected the charging stall, which was on the left of the Mini EV.
The firefighters are now investigating the cause. If they confirm it had nothing to do with the battery pack, it will help bring awareness to other components in electric cars that may be affected by fires. Inverters, onboard chargers, and even cables may provoke a blaze.
If the Hongguang Mini EV could be fast-charged, the stress some components may suffer could be to blame. It is not the case: the electric car’s 9.3-kWh battery pack takes 6 hours to charge at a 220V outlet, and that’s the lowest time you’ll spend giving it a full charge. It could be worse: the 13.8-kWh component demands 9 hours to be completely replenished.
HNDNews shared some images of the vehicle, which belongs to the GameBoy special edition. The Wuling is amazingly well preserved: only its front looks affected, more on the left side than on the right. Considering the charging port is right under the Wuling badge in the front grille, right in the middle of the front end, the issue must have started in a component installed on the left side of the vehicle.
According to the Chinese outlet, the LFP battery pack – placed under the floor of the electric car – was not affected. The pictures that HNDNews published show that pretty well. The fire also affected the charging stall, which was on the left of the Mini EV.
The firefighters are now investigating the cause. If they confirm it had nothing to do with the battery pack, it will help bring awareness to other components in electric cars that may be affected by fires. Inverters, onboard chargers, and even cables may provoke a blaze.
If the Hongguang Mini EV could be fast-charged, the stress some components may suffer could be to blame. It is not the case: the electric car’s 9.3-kWh battery pack takes 6 hours to charge at a 220V outlet, and that’s the lowest time you’ll spend giving it a full charge. It could be worse: the 13.8-kWh component demands 9 hours to be completely replenished.
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