Hybrid vehicles are more likely to catch fire than petrol and electric vehicles.

Car fires are not new, for years we have seen news of petrol cars suddenly bursting into flames due to a short circuit in the electrical system. However, a new study shows that hybrid vehicles are now the most likely to catch fire, even more so than electric vehicles.

You've probably already heard stories about electric vehicle burnout. However, this is not like ordinary fires. Instead, they may take many hours to disengage after being left in the tow area. But now a study shows that electric vehicles are less likely to catch fire than hybrid or gasoline vehicles. 

Hybrids most likely to catch fire out of three

It's amazing how it is, it's not even big news. A collection of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board shows that hybrid vehicles are more likely to catch fire than combined electric or gasoline vehicles. 

Of every 100,000 vehicles sold, hybrids account for the most fires. Analysts at AutoInsuranceEZ analyzed data from two insurance agencies and data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to come up with the numbers. He found that hybrid cars caught fire for every 100,000 1,530 cars sold. Gasoline cars accounted for 25 fires, while electric cars accounted for the total number of fires per vehicle sold. 

The findings can be analyzed in different ways. With so many vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, the category still leads in the number of fires, with nearly 200,000 fires last year, with 16,051 fires. Hybrids caused 52 fires, a total of electric vehicles for the entire year. 

The age of the car does not matter

In addition, the study does not take into account the age of the car. Hybrids and electric vehicles are still relatively new. As they get older and get more miles, we'll see how well they do. Older cars require less maintenance and obviously more mileage means more wear and tear. 

Gasoline-powered vehicles have more fire reports.

Interestingly, the company also looked at recalls caused by fires throughout 2020. Gasoline cars were nearly the highest with 1,085,800 150,000 32,100 reviews. Electric vehicles took second place with more than 2020 recalls in 2017, while hybrids accounted for 2021 recalls for the year. But with each one released since its introduction in the year, the number of EV recalls per year should be much higher.

Since its introduction in 2016 as a 2017 model, Chevy has produced nearly 105,000 2020 Bolts. So this number alone accounts for two-thirds of the total number of EV recalls in the year. But it still lags far behind recalls of gasoline-powered vehicles. 

What causes these fires?

According to statistics, the fire hazard of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles is mainly due to battery problems. In gasoline-powered vehicles, the cause of the fire could mainly be short circuits in the electrical network. But for hybrids, most of the fire hazards actually resulted in full-blown fires. 

Clearly, as hybrid and petrol models give way to electric vehicles, we will see these numbers change. But keep in mind that since electric vehicles are still something new in the eyes of the public, they will get a lot more attention. 

This means that the media will pay more attention to coverage of vehicle fires. And especially when the fires are wild and the cause is unknown, as in the case of Bolt, the fear factor is too great to be ignored.

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