Are Electric vehicles safe??

 

Recently a lot of Car companies are calling back their Electric vehicles because of faulty batteries. Few cars have caught fire in the parked position leading to a big question of the safety of electric vehicles. ^[1] The last decade saw a big increase in the sales of electric vehicles and India is turning into a giant electric car market. With the introduction of new electric cars in India by Hyundai, Tata, MG, etc the sales of Electric vehicles were rising. Now the sales can dip because of this news of catching fire of electric vehicles. Many big automobile giants like BMW, Hyundai, Tesla, GM, etc have called back their electric car models to rectify the software and battery problems.

 

Why do the batteries catch fire?

The customers who opt for electric cars are mainly shifting from the gasoline engine. So they are used to driving long distances with one full tank gas-filled. Hence the customer's demand for making electric cars that can run long distances with one charge has pressurized the automobile manufacturers to sack too many cells of the lithium-ion battery together. Also, the energy-storing ability of battery cells was increased which increases the energy density of batteries, and hence with this energy, the cars can run large distances. But some technical glitches to these batteries could lead to an outflow of the energy stored and it can be very fatal and this is precisely the reason for the electric cars to catch fire.

 

So the automobile industries manufacturing electric vehicles must look out for other means in 

improving the battery energy storing capacity and satisfy the customers. 

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^[1] "Electric car batteries are catching fire and that could be a big ...." 10 Nov. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/success/electric-car-vehicle-battery-fires/index.html. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.