South Korea mandates disclosure of EV battery makers

SEOUL: South Korea will make it mandatory for electric car makers to disclose the names of their battery suppliers and manufacturing technology in an effort to alleviate concerns over EV battery fires.

The measures aim "to resolve public concerns and to secure the safety of electric vehicles” after an EV caught fire last month in an underground carpark in Incheon, west of Seoul, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement Friday.

The full disclosure of EV battery manufacturers is a rare move by carmakers as the information is typically kept confidential around the globe.

The government will also bring forward testing of a certification system for EV batteries to October from a previously scheduled start date of February 2025.

In other steps, it will expand the range of EV battery inspections to mandatory car inspections which owners need to get on a regular basis, and push to raise insurance subscriptions by EV manufacturers and battery charging operators.

Automakers including Hyundai motor Co., Kia Corp., and the Korean units of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BMW AG, and Tesla Inc. have already taken action to address rising fears over EV safety.

Last month’s incident, where a Mercedes-Benz sedan caught fire at an apartment complex led to the evacuation of 200 families and triggered calls for stricter government measures on EVs.

To strengthen safety in parking garages, the government will require underground parking lots in newly-constructed buildings to install wet sprinklers.

In existing buildings, South Korea will reinforce inspection of sprinklers in basement parking garages.

More EV fire-fighting equipment will be provided to fire stations through next year and automakers including Hyundai and Kia will be asked to install battery management systems on older-model EVs and to provide free updates to EVs which already have the systems installed.