An intense car fire in an underground garage last week in South Korea speaks to a problem not just in that nation but worldwide for the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the fire began with a Mercedez-Benz EV, one that wasn't even charging at the time. It took firefighters eight hours to extinguish the blaze, by which time 23 people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and about 140 cars were damaged, per Reuters. Details:
- Salient point: Fires may be more common in standard vehicles, but EV fires are harder to put out because the lithium-ion batteries burn so hot. This issue dogs all EV makers, including Tesla and Chevrolet.