Environment & Energy

Why don't you report ICE car fires?

Evs vs ice cars catching on fire

Based on the analyzed data, here are the key findings:

Hybrid cars are more prone to catching fire than both EVs and ICE cars, according to a 2022 study.
EVs are less likely to catch fire than ICE cars, with a fire rate of 0.0012% for passenger vehicle batteries (based on a global study from 2010 to 2020) compared to 0.1% for ICE passenger vehicles.
Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) reported that in 2022, there were 23 fires in 611,000 EVs, resulting in a rate of 0.004%, which is 20 times less likely to happen than ICE car fires (3,400 fires in 4.4 million cars, or 0.08%).
A report by EV FireSafe, funded by Australia’s Department of Defence, found fewer than 500 electric car battery fires out of 20 million EVs worldwide, making it 80-odd times rarer than an ICE car fire.
Limited data and varying methodologies make it challenging to draw definitive conclusions, but overall, the evidence suggests that EVs are less likely to catch fire than ICE cars.
Key Takeaways

Hybrid cars appear to be more prone to fires than both EVs and ICE cars.
EVs are significantly less likely to catch fire than ICE cars, with a lower fire rate.
While EV fires may be more challenging to extinguish due to lithium-ion battery issues, the overall risk of an EV catching fire is lower than that of an ICE car.