Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This video shows another electric vehicle completely engulfed in flames after catching fire at a service centre just days after a Tesla model S hit headlines for bursting into flames.
The SUV belonging to Chinese carmaker NIO suddenly burst into flames without warning at the authorised service point in Xi’an, capital of north-western China’s Shaanxi Province, on 22nd April.
The vehicle, an ES8, can be seen covered in flames and burning from the inside out.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
Another angle of the video shows two other ES8s parked next to it and apparently being charged.
NIO service centre staff members can be seen attempting to break one of the car’s windows so the owner can get his belongings inside; however, the glass is too strong and they eventually resort to just opening the door.
In the video, fire extinguishers continue to be used on all the vehicles in order to cool them down.
With the fire under control, the two ES8s were able to be moved, but the SUV where the blaze originated was burnt until only its shell remained.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
NIO said in a statement that no one was injured and no property was lost – besides the vehicle itself – during the fire, which is still being investigated by the police.
It is proving to be a troublesome week for electric vehicles in China, with the incident happening just a day after a Tesla Model S caught fire inside a car park in Shanghai, where NIO’s headquarters are also based.
The cause of the Tesla fire is still being investigated, with the US electric vehicle manufacturer having dispatched a team to Shanghai and contacted the owner of the Model S.
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded: “Will do” on Twitter in response to a question asking whether the company will “release statistics regarding vehicle fires in its quarterly safety reports”.
He also defended electric vehicles by saying: “Every fire is investigated. Problem is those who only write about 0 injury Tesla fires while ignoring fatal combustion car fires or fail to mention any contextual statistics in their article, misleading readers into thinking EV’s have high fire risk when opposite is true.”
