BYD electric car catches fire at Hong Kong charging station, expert says short circuit could be the cause
- Photos of the scene show the BYD car’s bonnet and tyre were damaged, with the charging cable left connected to vehicle
- Polytechnic University’s Professor Eric Cheng says the fire was likely to be caused by a short circuit of the vehicle’s electrical wires
A Chinese-made electric vehicle (EV) caught fire at a charging station in Hong Kong on Thursday night, prompting an expert to urge authorities to better educate car owners about safety risks.
Police said a 53-year-old woman was charging her car while inside the vehicle on Lam Hing Street in Kowloon Bay at about 9.31pm.
“She heard a loud bang about 15 minutes later, which appeared to be an explosion, and immediately jumped out of her car and called police for help,” a source familiar with the case said on Friday.
Dense smoke had filled the station by the time emergency personnel arrived, the insider added.
No casualties were reported and no evacuation was required, according to police.
Photos of the scene showed the vehicle was a BYD car while the charging station location was named as Speed+.
The charging cable was left connected to the vehicle, while the surface of the car bonnet was burned, images showed.
In addition, the right front tyre was seriously damaged and the front bumper partly detached. Black particles were scattered on the station’s floor.
“Firefighters determined there was nothing suspicious in the incident,” the insider said, adding the suspected cause of the fire could be a short circuit in the vehicle’s charger.
The car owner hired a private tow truck to remove the vehicle.
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The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said it had deployed officers to carry out an on-site investigation, and preliminary findings revealed the fire started near the car’s charging socket.
No abnormalities were found at the charging facility, the department said. However, an improvement notice had been served to the operator of the station to allow inspection of the fixed electrical installation.
A Facebook page showed a company called Sino Express Intelligence operates the charging station.
According to the company’s mobile app, the firm runs charging stations in at least eight locations in Hong Kong, although the Kowloon Bay one was not listed. It also has three other charging points that are about to open, and another under construction.
BYD declined to comment on Friday, but said on Saturday that the incident arose from a charger short-circuit, based on its on-site assessment. The company said its showroom staff and technicians had provided support to the vehicle owner and pledged to cooperate with all parties to handle subsequent matters.
A spokeswoman of the Speed+ Charging Station in Kowloon Bay declined to comment on the incident, saying it was still investigating the matter.
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Professor Eric Cheng Ka-wai, of Polytechnic University’s electrical engineering department, said the fire was likely to have been caused by a short circuit of the vehicle’s electrical wires based on photos of the scene.
“If the wires are damaged, it could easily lead to a short circuit that might spark a fire,” he said. “The front right tyre was seriously burnt because the plastic catches fire easily.”
Cheng added that a management system should be installed on the EV battery to cut off the power supply immediately there was a short circuit.
Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, honorary life president of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, called on authorities to encourage EV agents to teach owners about the safety risks of their vehicles.
“More people are switching to EVs in Hong Kong, but they may not be aware of the hidden risks and the dos and don’ts,” he said. “Authorities should encourage EV agents to provide crash courses for new owners.”
Lee noted that EVs might catch fire easily while being charged, if the connector was not securely plugged into the charging inlet.
“Sparks may fly out and eventually become flames and burn the cable,” he said. “If the charging system is not properly installed and connected to the transformer, it may also easily ignite sparks, which will turn into a fire.”
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He said medium chargers and superchargers could pose a bigger fire threat as they send high-voltage electricity to the EV battery.
As a safety precaution, Lee advised EV drivers not to stay inside the car while charging.
“They should stay outside and stop charging the vehicle if there are sparks or a burning smell. Always remember to securely plug in the charging connector,” he said.
Official statistics showed Hong Kong had 76,395 EVs, or 8.3 per cent of the total number of vehicles in the city as of December 31. The Transport Department has approved 278 models from 16 economies.
Additional reporting by Fiona Sun
