Tesla reveals EV battery suppliers to calm public anxiety over Mercedes EQE explosion

Industry

Tesla reveals EV battery suppliers to calm public anxiety over Mercedes EQE explosion

Published: 16 Aug. 2024, 18:06

SARAH CHEA
chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr

Tesla disclosed the brands of batteries it used in its EVs on Friday, joining the latest trend in the automotive industry to calm escalating public anxiety after a recent EV explosion broke out in an underground parking garage.

Tesla used batteries from Korea's LG Energy Solution, Japan's Panasonic and China's CATL for its Model 3s and Model Ys currently on Korean roads.

CCTV footage shows a Mercedes-Benz EV exploding at an underground parking lot in Incheon on Aug. 1. [YONHAP]

The EV giant, however, didn't narrow down the details on which batteries were used in specific vehicles that have been manufactured during specific periods.

More expensive Model Xs and Ss are entirely topped with batteries from Panasonic.

The information was made available on a website run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, unlike other foreign brands that made announcements through their websites. The Korean government on Aug. 13 urged all auto manufacturers in Korea to voluntarily disclose the details of the batteries installed in their EVs.

A total of 21 auto brands from 17 companies have revealed the names of their battery manufacturers as of press time Friday.

As many as 880 vehicles were damaged due to a Mercedes EQE EV bursting into flames in an underground parking lot in an apartment complex in Incheon on Aug. 1. [YONHAP]

BMW's MINI used CATL batteries for its MINI Electric, while Rolls-Royce used Samsung SDI batteries for its Spectre EV.

Lexus used batteries manufactured by Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, for its only EV model, the RZ450e.

The battery disclosures — hitherto treated as confidential — began as public anger and concerns accelerated after an exploded Mercedes EQE sedan turned out to have been equipped with batteries from China's Farasis Energy, a lesser-known EV battery supplier.

Five Mercedes EV models are installed with batteries from Farasis, including the most expensive model currently available in Korea, which totals some 6,000 units in the country.

The blaze, which broke out in an underground parking garage in an apartment complex in Incheon, sent 23 people to hospital and damaged as many as 880 vehicles. It inflicted electricity and water supply outages on nearly 500 households for a week.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]