The EQB caught fire while charging outside a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Johor Bahru.
While there are those who may prefer to start the new year with a bang, there is at least one Malaysian Mercedes-Benz EQB350 owner who may now have preferred a slightly more quiet start to 2024 instead. Such is as their all-electric SUV has recently burnt down right in front of the Cycle & Carriage Johor Bahru dealership in Skudai, while apparently charging from a DC fast charger.
Speaking more regarding this incident, Larkin Fire and Rescue Station operation commander Azmi Johar stated for a distress call notifying them about the incident was received at around 2.25 p.m. on New Years day. A fire engine and two Rapid Intervention Motorcycle units with 10 firemen were immediately deployed to the scene were subsequently deployed to contain the blaze.
“When we arrived at the location, we found a Mercedes-Benz EQB model was on fire while the vehicle was being charged. The fire destroyed about 90% of the car, 5% of the showroom building structure and as well as 20% of the electric vehicle charging bay,” he added. The blaze was successfully extinguished at around 3.10 p.m, while the cause of the fire and the estimated loss remains under investigation.
UPDATE: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia since also responded to queries regarding this incident and has stated: “There has been an incident of a Mercedes-Benz vehicle that caught fire at the Cycle & Carriage Johor Bahru. The fire was contained and there were no injuries from the incident. We sincerely regret this incident and are actively investigating with the authorities to determine the cause.”
Now it is worth pointing out the reality that while certainly not the best way for this particular Benz EQB owner to start 2024, it is nevertheless not exactly uncommon for EVs to catch fire. Some might recall there was a prior local incident of a a Tesla Model Y going up in flames in Puchong this past August, with global recalls for EV who have a tendency to spontaneously combust not all that infrequent too.
Though before anyone gets the impression that the fire risk is exclusive to EVs, it is pertinent to highlight that fuel-drinking cars also have a tendency to go ablaze too. Such is as under those hoods is an internal combustion engine after all, with any slight irregularity potentially causing the spontaneous ignition of the tank-full of highly flammable liquid on board.
The bigger problem however with an EV fire is that unlike a fuel fire, a battery fire may be more intense and harder to extinguish than a primarily petrol- or diesel-based blaze. This is primarily due to the distinct possibility of a self-sustaining thermal runaway reaction occurring in the battery cells, with this reaction being intense enough to even catch fire while under water.
Thankfully for this particular Benz blaze that is, the speed at which the fire was extinguished shows for either the failsafes within the battery prevented further spontaneous combustion, or the fire was perhaps not due to the battery at all. Rather fortunately too, while the car is essentially now a burnt out husk, no one was injured as a result of this rather fiery start to the new year.
