Mercedes-Benz Korea unveils manufacturer of battery used in its EVs

Firefighters are demonstrating a simulation of electric vehicle fires during a public-private joint training session held in a parking lot of Songdo 2-dong Administration and Welfare Center in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon on August 13.

Mercedes-Benz on August 13 disclosed the battery manufacturer of a car that caught fire in an underground parking lot of an apartment building in Incheon and announced plans for free inspections of its electric vehicles. Since it came 12 days after the accident, the company has been criticized for its lax response despite the growing phobia of electric vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Korea unveiled the manufacturer of the battery used in its electric vehicles on its website on the same day. The German carmaker had refused to disclose the battery manufacturer, saying, "It is difficult to comment on the specific situation because the investigation is underway.”

However, Mercedes-Benz disclosed its battery manufacturer later in the day after consumers vowed to boycott its cars, and Korean carmakers, such as Hyundai and Kia, as well as its German rival BMW Korea also disclosed their battery manufacturers.

According to data released by Mercedes-Benz Korea, the EQE 350, an electric vehicle that caught fire in the apartment parking lot in Incheon on August 1, was equipped with a battery from the Chinese company Farasis Energy. In addition, its high-performance vehicles, the AMG EQE 53 4MATIC, EQE 350 4MATIC, EQE 500 4MATIC SUV, EQS 350, are also equipped with Farasis batteries.

The automaker used batteries from the world's No. 1 supplier CATL for its higher-end models, the EQS 450, EQS 450 4MATIC, EQS 53 4MATIC, EQS 450 4MATIC SUV, EQS 580 4MATIC SUV, and the Maybach EQS 680 SUV. In other words, Mercedes-Benz’s higher-end models that are relatively more expensive or emphasize safety are equipped with the batteries of CATL, the world's No. 1 battery manufacturer.

Farasis is the top 10 company in terms of global shipments and sales. In the global battery industry, Farasis batteries are known to be cheaper than CATL batteries, but have a lower reputation for quality, including safety.

In fact, Farasis batteries have been recalled in China due to safety concerns. In 2021, Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group) recalled more than 30,000 electric vehicles, including the EX360, equipped with Farasis NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) batteries due to a fire hazard and other reasons. Mercedes-Benz Korea said, "All batteries for our electric vehicles are produced by our wholly-owned subsidiaries.”

Mercedes-Benz Korea said that from August 14, it would conduct a free inspection on its electric vehicles through 75 authorized service centers nationwide. All electric vehicles sold by the German automaker are eligible for the free inspection. In addition to vehicles equipped with Farasis batteries, electric vehicles with other batteries, such as CATL, will also be eligible for the inspection.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 17,223 electric vehicles were sold by Mercedes-Benz Korea in the Korean market from 2022 to last July. Of these, 5,582 were equipped with Farasis batteries, accounting for 32 percent of the company’s total electric vehicle sales.

On the same day, the Korean government held a vice-ministerial meeting on electric vehicle fires presided over by Bang Ki-sun, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and decided to recommend that manufacturers voluntarily disclose information on their electric vehicle batteries that have not been disclosed and conduct special free inspections.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.