When an electric car goes up in flames, shares and comments explode on social media. It is now a consolidated fact: the fire of an electric car generates much more sensation than that of a car with a traditional engine, whether petrol or diesel. But what do the statistics actually tell us? Where is the greatest fire risk among electric, hybrid, petrol, diesel or LPG cars?
In Europe, information on the number of car fires in relation to different engine types is still limited. Among the few data available, those processed in America by AutoinsuranceEZ and the Swedish agency stand out Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
Statistics on fires of electric, hybrid and diesel and petrol cars
To determine the percentage of fires by type of vehicle with combustion engine, hybrid or 100% electric, the data used, updated to 2022, comes from three main sources: the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and government recall data from Recalls.gov.
The final situation reports a total of 215,636 fires analysed, with the following percentages divided by type of engine: electric, hybrid and thermal (petrol, diesel and gas). The percentages are calculated on 100,000 cars sold and represent the proportion of fires compared to the total number of cars involved in fires.
Motorization | Fires every 100,000 cars | % of 100,000 cars sold | Number of fires analyzed |
% of total fires |
---|---|---|---|---|
electric car | 25 | 0.025 % | 52 | 0.02% |
Hybrid car | 3,474 | 3.47% | 16,051 | 7.44% |
Thermal (diesel, petrol, LPG) | 1,530 | 1.53% | 199,533 | 92.54% |
Total | 5,029 | 100% | 215,636 | 100% |
From this data it emerges that the number of fires by vehicle type shows that electric cars are the safest and do not catch fire as frequently as one might imagine.
According to National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), car fires caused approximately 560 deaths in the United States in 2018, most related to traffic accidents. Additionally, these fires generated property damage estimated at $1.9 billion.
Other more recent data and statistics (May 2023) were developed by the Swedish agency Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Swedish federal agency dealing with civil protection, public safety and risk management). According to data collected by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), from 2018 to 2022, on average there were 3,400 car fires per year. Of these, only it 0.4% is due to electric cars and the1.5 from hybrids.
Here is a table with data on car fires recorded in Sweden from 2018 to 2022.
Year | Total fires | Electric cars | Hybrid cars | Heat engine car |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 3,409 | 13 | 49 | 3,347 |
2019 | 3,425 | 12 | 51 | 3,362 |
2020 | 3,408 | 13 | 50 | 3,345 |
2021 | 3,410 | 12 | 50 | 3,348 |
2022 | 3,429 | 14 | 50 | 3,325 |
In particular, in 2022 there were 3,429 car fires, of which 14 were caused by electric cars, 50 by hybrid cars and 3,325 by cars with combustion engines. As can be seen, combustion engine cars account for the vast majority of car fires in Sweden, exceeding 90%. The percentage of electric car fires is therefore very low, equal to 0.041%.
The percentage of hybrid car fires is instead higher, equal to 0.146%.
Car fire statistics
According to data collected on car fires, it appears that electric cars are significantly less likely to catch fire than combustion engine cars. In Sweden, for example, in the period from 2018 to 2022, only 0.4% of car fires were attributed to electric cars. This indicates that electric cars are approximately 25 times less likely to catch fire than combustion engine cars. These data are also consistent in other countries. In the United States, from 2011 to 2022, electric cars accounted for only 0.02% of all car fires.
There are several reasons why electric cars are the least at risk of fire. The lithium batteries that power electric cars are designed to be very safe with sophisticated electronic systems (BMS) that monitor the state of the charge in real time. Secondly, electric cars do not have parts that can cause fires, such as the internal combustion engine, exhaust system, lubrication system and fuel tank.
Read also,
→ Why a car goes up in flames
→ All the news talking about fires involving a car
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