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Electric cars · Fires

Do electric cars catch fire more than gas cars?

Fire complaints are rare for both. In their first year or two, owners reported a fire in 0.8 of every 100,000 electric cars sold, and in 0.5 of every 100,000 other cars.

27EV complaints that report a fire
0.8per 100,000 EVs sold
0.5per 100,000 other cars sold
20EV recalls that mention fire

So EVs come out a little higher per car, but the numbers are tiny: 27 fire complaints across 3,182,879 electric cars. A handful of reports either way would flip it. What the data doesn't support is the idea that EVs burn far more often in normal use.

Fire complaints and fire recalls, by EV

Electric carFire complaintsPer 100,000 soldRecalls that mention fire
Volkswagen ID.433.36 of 25
Chevrolet Bolt21.55 of 7
Ford F-150 Lightning22.73 of 12
Kia EV914.31 of 7
Kia EV611.61 of 5
Hyundai Ioniq 511.01 of 5
Nissan Leaf00.01 of 5
Kia Niro EV00.01 of 5
Ford Mustang Mach-E00.01 of 19
Tesla Cybertruck25.10 of 11
Hyundai Kona Electric13.70 of 3
Cadillac Lyriq12.70 of 9
Tesla Model S22.50 of 29
Tesla Model X11.10 of 31
Tesla Model Y80.70 of 33
Tesla Model 320.30 of 29
Rivian R1T00.00 of 14
Rivian R1S00.00 of 15
Hyundai Ioniq 600.00 of 6
Polestar 200.00 of 7
Chevrolet Blazer EV00.00 of 5
Chevrolet Equinox EV00.00 of 1

What it means for you: the bigger fire risk is an open recall. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls with your VIN, and get recall repairs done. The Chevrolet Bolt's battery recall replaced battery packs for that reason.

What this does and doesn't cover

These are complaints in which the owner reported a fire, filed with NHTSA by the end of the year after the model year, for model years 2021-2024. NHTSA doesn't confirm the cause. It doesn't cover fires after crashes that weren't reported to NHTSA, or older cars, where battery and engine fires both become more common. Recalls come from NHTSA's recall database: a recall counts when its summary or risk mentions fire.

Updated