Li Auto explains why vehicle caught fire

Chinese new-energy vehicle startup Li Auto has explained why one of its vehicles caught fire on August 6 in Guangdong Province.

The incident had raised concerns about the safety of electric vehicles. 

The Beijing-based automaker said the fire was caused by an object that had flown off from under the car and pierced a high-pressure fuel line. Li Auto manufactures extended-range electric vehicles, which are essentially hybrid vehicles that utilize gasoline to extend the range of the car, so the car has a fuel line.

The sport-utility vehicle, one of the first Li Auto models since mass production began in November last year, went on fire on the Sihui and Lianzhou expressways in Zhaoqing.

Two people in the vehicle were taken to hospital for observation. No one else was injured. 

Li Auto said that no abnormalities in the battery or range extender in the vehicle were noted after the accident.

The cause was preliminarily judged to be a 20-centimeter piece of iron penetrating the high-pressure fuel pipe, causing a fuel spill which was ignited by the high temperature of the exhaust pipe. A more specific reason for the incident and detailed analysis results needed a detailed investigation based on site of accident, it said.

It was not the first such incident involving a Li Auto vehicle. 

On May 8 this year, the front cabin of one of its cars caught fire in Changsha in Hunan Province. 

Li Auto issued a letter of apology and said an investigation had shown that the fire was caused by a piece of a paint protection pad attached to the front surface of the exhaust pipe in the lower right part of the front engine.

Li Auto, established in 2015, listed on Nasdaq on July 30. It was the second new-energy vehicle startup to go public in the US stock market after NIO’s US$1 billion IPO in New York two years ago.