Tesla Says Single Battery Module Caused Car Fire in Shanghai

BEIJING/TOKYO — Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Inc. said on Friday a single battery module caused a car to catch fire in Shanghai and it had revised its vehicle settings to further protect its batteries following an investigation into the incident.

The investigation found no system defect, and the initial findings show the incident was caused by a single battery module located at the front of the vehicle, Tesla said.

Japanese battery manufacturer Panasonic supplies Tesla with battery cells, but not modules, which are a group of cells joined together.

The company has revised the charge and thermal management settings on Model S and Model X vehicles via an over-the-air (OTA) software update, to help further protect the battery and improve battery longevity, the statement said.

A parked Tesla Model S caught fire in Shanghai on April 21.

Tesla has said its EVs are about 10 times less likely to experience a fire than petrol-powered cars.

Tesla’s local competitor Nio Inc. said on Weibo on Thursday that some battery modules in its cars might have safety issues as well, and that it would recall 4,803 units after three fire incidents in China.

Safety of electric vehicles is a growing issue in China, the world’s largest new energy vehicle (NEV) market, where 1.3 million NEVs were sold last year.

China’s industry ministry asked carmakers this month to carry out safety investigations on waterproof protection, high-voltage harnesses, in-vehicle charging devices, and battery boxes in their cars.