Some people believe that electric cars are more likely to catch fire than cars with internal combustion engines, but statistics show that this is not the case. Recently, insurance company AXA has conducted a series of tests to try to find out what the answer to this question really is. The series of studies were conducted with real cars, for example, AXA found a Tesla Model S that had been in use for more than six years and pulled it with a cable connected to a Tesla Model X.
The vehicle overturned and caught fire after passing over a diving board. However, the fire was fake and was caused by pyrotechnic products, and the vehicle’s battery had been removed previously. Overall, it was still safe.
The good news is that insurance companies have confirmed the previous statistics. That is, electric cars are no more likely to catch fire than internal combustion engine cars. But the bad news is that in the event of a car fire, electric cars are significantly more dangerous because of the “help” of the battery.
According to AXA’s accident data, electric cars are 50% more likely to be involved in accidents. The reason is simple: most electric cars are now equipped with very powerful engines. One example is the Tesla Model 3 cab accident in Paris when a cab was traveling at over 100 km/h and the driver lost control of the car.
In addition, this study identified another problem with electric vehicles – their weight. It is true that the battery adds weight to the vehicle, which may have more serious consequences for some users in an accident.
However, electric cars are usually safer in crashes than regular cars, thanks to the fact that they are a bit heavier, in addition to the fact that they do not have an electric motor in front of them, which allows them to have a larger cushion area in various crash tests.
