Instances of vehicle fires are relatively very rare, but they do occur, and when they do, they tend to get a lot of attention. In recent years, incidents of fires afflicting electric vehicles has been much reported on, by the media in general, and yes, by Auto123 as well.
These events make the news because the technology is new and it fascinates people. We have also reported cases involving vehicles with combustion engines, of course, if they’re deemed newsworthy for one reason or another. The cases are evaluated individually. We don't focus particularly on one type of vehicle or another.
Recently, the Chevrolet Bolt has been very much in the spotlight due to problems involving vehicle fires. But as much as the fires themselves, it’s the scope of the recall affecting the Bolt, and the issues with battery supplier LG, and the delays affecting recall repairs, that have earned the poor Bolt to much attention.
A new study shows perhaps the fairest way to look at incidences of vehicle fires, and whether electric powertrains are more prone to them.
A new study citing the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) finds that electric vehicles burn far less, proportionally, than combustion engine vehicles and hybrids, as reported by Kelley Blue Book.
Most surprisingly, perhaps, the study finds that hybrid models are the most involved in vehicle fires. In fact, proportionally, more hybrid models burn than all-electric and combustion-engine vehicles, combined.
In practical terms, here's what it looks like. For every 100,000 hybrid vehicles, the study tabulated 3,475 fires in 2021. For every 100,000 gasoline-engine vehicles, there were 1,530 fires. What about all-electric products? For every 100,000 units, there were only 25 fires.
The difference is striking.
As mentioned, in terms of sheer numbers gasoline-powered vehicles burn more often because there are more of them on the road. According to the study, combustion-engine models caused 199,533 fires in 2021. Hybrid models caused 16,051 incidents. As for pure electrics, they totaled 52 blazes.
One irony is that many of the fires involving combustion engines are caused by electrical shorts. However, this technology cannot be blamed, since those electrical systems are just as present in all-electric vehicles, which almost never burn.
In the case of traditional vehicle models and hybrids, fires are often caused by battery-related problems.
One final note: going forward, when we cover vehicle fires in future, whether they concern electric, gasoline or hybrid models, we will be able to use the figures from this study to put everything in context.