Hyundai Canada probes scorched Kona EV

Hyundai Canada says it has spoken with Transport Canada and a customer in Montreal who said his electric Hyundai Kona exploded while parked in a garage.

Piero Cosentino told the CBC he initially saw smoke coming from his garage, moments before an explosion rocked his home, blowing the garage door off its track and clear across the street. Cosentino told the public broadcaster that his Hyundai Kona, which he purchased in March, inexplicably caught fire.

“We have indeed been in contact with the customer,” Hyundai Canada spokesman Jean-François Taylor told Automotive News Canada in an email. “We are working with authorities and fire investigators in Montreal to understand the root cause of the incident, as this is not yet known. As is always the case, the safety of our customers is our first priority and we will push to fully understand the issue as quickly as possible.

There are conflicting media reports about whether the vehicle was plugged in at the time of the incident.

“It is still too early to draw conclusions as to what may have caused the incident,” Gabrielle Fontaine-Giroux of the Montreal Fire Department said. “The [department] is ensuring proper follow-up with electric vehicle experts.”

She didn’t answer when asked whether the vehicle was plugged in or charging at the time of the fire. 

Transport Canada said it would provide more information Tuesday or Wednesday morning, at the latest. 

Lithium battery fires aren’t new to the industry.

Earlier this year, fires involving Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc. cars in China prompted the industry there to take steps to alleviate concerns from potential customers. Tesla said a single battery module caused a car to catch fire in Shanghai and that it has revised vehicle settings to further protect batteries. Nio recalled 4,803 units after three fire incidents in China. 

Mitsubishi in 2013 stopped production of the Outlander plug-in hybrid crossover — and briefly ceased Japanese sales — after one lithium ion battery melted at a dealership and another caught fire in an assembly plant.

In 2012, Chrysler Group LLC temporarily sidelined 109 trucks and 23 minivans in plug-in hybrid test fleets due to overheating batteries in some of the pickup trucks. There were no fires or injuries and the incidents occurred when the trucks were unoccupied, the automaker said at the time.

But a 2017 report by the U.S. National Highway traffic Safety Administration concluded: "The propensity and severity of fires and explosions from the accidental ignition of flammable electrolytic solvents used in [lithium-ion] battery systems are anticipated to be somewhat comparable to or perhaps slightly less than those for gasoline or diesel vehicular fuels."