SEUL: South Korean cab driver Park Jeong-soon purchased his electric vehicle ( EV ) about four months ago because he wanted to spend less on fuel.
He now pays about 400,000 won ( US$ 299 ) per month, which is roughly a third of what he used to pay for his previous diesel-powered car, which has the intended effect.
While he is content with the money saved, current EV fires are making him anxious.
” In my house, I charge my car completely in the underwater parking lot, and that makes me nervous”, he told CNA.
A Mercedes-Benz electronic coupe made by China’s Farasis Energy on August 1 caught fire in the underground storage of an house in Incheon, South Korea.
More than 100 vehicles were reportedly damaged in the blaze, which took more than eight hours to destroy. More than 20 persons even suffered smoke inhalation and had to be hospitalised.  ,
According to preliminary investigations, the park lot’s sprinkler ‘ malfunction caused the fire to get worse.  ,
Only days later, a Kia EV6 burned out in a park building in South Chungcheong state, taking more than an hour to set out.
In a report published in February, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire &, Disaster Headquarters said 1, 399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022 with 43.7 per share attributed to automobiles.  ,
More than half of vehicles fires in underwater garages were caused by electrical sources, according to the report.