Mercedes-Benz chief in South Korea to meet residents after EV fire damaged property By Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – The head of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea on Wednesday met residents of an apartment complex damaged by a fire that started in one of its electric cars and raged for more than eight hours, raising concerns about public safety.

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Matthias Veitel will hold a closed-door meeting with residents of the apartment in Incheon, west of Seoul, the company said, without providing further details.

The fire, which broke out on August 1, appears to have started spontaneously in an electric Mercedes-Benz using Farasis Energy batteries parked in the apartment complex’s underground garage, damaging or destroying 140 cars.

The fire also forced some apartment residents to move to shelters due to damage to the building.

Media images of cars destroyed with only their metal frames left in the parking lot fire have fueled consumer concerns about electric cars, likely exacerbated by the fact that many people in South Korea live in apartments, often with parking lots underneath them.

The incident prompted government officials to hold a series of meetings this week to put in place measures to try to prevent such fires from occurring.

Mercedes-Benz Korea said earlier it was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the fire and planned to offer free inspections to electric vehicle owners.