Mercedes, Kia and Hyundai have revealed the name suppliers of the batteries used in their electric vehicles (EVs) this week. The disclosure was made after an incident where a Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 caught fire in South Korea on August 1, which caused 880 vehicles to suffer damage with 40 of them completely burnt.
The fire also injured 23 individuals and 500 apartment residents were unable to return to their homes due to power outages. The car caught fire suddenly in the apartment parking lot and was not charging at the time.
Mercedes revealed Farasis Energy batteries were used in the burning EQE. In addition, LG Energy Solution, SK On and CATL batteries are also used by Mercedes. The supplier was forced to reveal itself after being charged by South Koreans who were worried about the batteries used in the EVs they bought.
To ensure the safety of customers, Mercedes Korea provided free battery checks and donated 4.5 billion won (~RM 112,003,597) to residents affected by the fire.
Hyundai listed the battery suppliers for their 13 EV models as LG Energy Solution and SK On with only the Kona using CATL batteries. Kia will announce their list of battery suppliers this week.