A 2024 EV car caught fire while charging early Saturday morning in Bangkok. The incident, which luckily left no one injured, raises concerns over EV safety amid a rise in insurance claims. Meanwhile, EV sales in Thailand show a slight dip in early 2025.
An early morning fire on Saturday morning burned out a 2024 EV car. Luckily, the people living within the Bangkok residence were not hurt as the alarm was raised. Fortunately, the garage in which the car was parked was monitored by CCTV. In turn, someone happened to see the flames building at approximately 5 AM. The accident comes as one of Thailand’s leading insurance firms in March revealed that claims on 66,000 EV policies were over 100% in excess of premiums. At the same time, sales of EVs in the kingdom are holding up. They only dropped 1% in the opening two months of 2025 after a 13% fall in 2024 compared to 2023, which was heralded as a breakthrough year.
News emerged on Saturday of another EV car fire in Bangkok. It came on social media as a neighbour posted about an early morning fire at his friend’s home. At 5:00 AM, security cameras installed in the area caught the fire as it arose in a 2024 white EV sedan. The blaze began inside the vehicle, particularly near the driver and passenger seats. Ultimately, the car, which had only driven 10,000 kilometres, was destroyed.
Thankfully, no one in the residence was hurt as the alarm was raised. The car was parked in a garage, but at the same time, there were monitoring CCTV cameras. The post notably raised questions about the real cause.
A neighbour shares the incident video and expresses concern about the EV brand’s safety following the fire
The person who posted the news said he was sent the video by a friend. In short, his friend said he was done with EV cars, especially from a particular brand.
“My friend bought the car in January 2024. It has only ten thousand miles on it. I understand that no one wants this to happen, but it has happened. I’m asking for my friend to stay put and wait for the company to compensate and take responsibility.”
In reply, the man’s friend urged him to let the car go and claim on his insurance. Indeed, he also advised his friend to seek compensation from the car manufacturer.
The post said, “When a friend texted me saying, ‘You XXX (reserving the brand name), I’m gone!’ I thought it was a car for sale. The EV caught fire while it was parked and charging at home at 5 a.m.!!! (The CCTV clip from the house across the street is in the comments that the fire suddenly started on its own.) Luckily, someone saw it and no one in the house was hurt.”
Insurance firms face difficulties with EV policies, raising rates following significant claims and losses
This incident comes barely four weeks after one of the country’s largest insurance firms said it was losing money on EV insurance coverage.
On March 24th, Amorn Thongthiew, the Chief Executive Officer of Viriyah Insurance, revealed at the same time that his firm would continue offering coverage. In turn, this came after last year, when many insurance firms halted such policies.
In particular, Mr. Amorn said his firm underwrote 66,000 EV car policies. However, claims exceeded rates in 2024 by over 100%. Consequently, the firm was raising its rates. However, it was also offering more extended coverage terms.
On Saturday, it was still not yet confirmed what had caused the EV garage fire.
This will require a police investigation. The incident follows others in Bangkok and other provinces over the years. Notably, there have also been quite a few car fires involving internal combustion cars and vehicles in Thailand, including motorbikes.
Government still assessing the risks and safety of EV vehicles, including fire hazards with lithium batteries
Nevertheless, at both national and local level, the government is still understanding the nature of EV vehicles. For instance, fires in EV vehicles can be more dangerous and more difficult for rescue services to handle. In brief, they have their own unique risk factors.
This is linked to the massive lithium batteries used in these vehicles. At length, this can lead to a process called thermal runaway. Effectively, the batteries fuel a rapid self-heating process and consistently pose a particularly dangerous fire.
In September 2023, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt ordered a study into the storage of such vehicles and associated batteries. This came after a particularly fierce fire in the Chatuchak area of the city.
Four months earlier, a new Bangkok Metropolitan Administration bus had caught fire on Phetchaburi Road in the Makkasan Subdistrict of the Ratchathewi District of Bangkok.
Fire on an electric bus in Bangkok highlights risks of lithium batteries in large electric service vehicles
The modern high-specification bus with air conditioning hit a bridge beam. Previously, the driver Wanlop Phromyamyai had switched lanes to avoid traffic. After that, he hit the bridge beam. Ultimately, the upper portion of the bus suffered considerable damage and abrasion.
In turn, engineers later revealed that this caused a short circuit in the large bus’s batteries. This led to an explosion and subsequently a fire on top of the bus. However, first there was an explosion.
Fortunately, Mr. Wanlop’s bus was empty as he was returning to the depot. The fire broke out on a Bangkok Metropolitan Transit Authority electric bus under a flyover over the Pratunam crossing on Phetchaburi Road.
The time of the incident was 11:30 p.m. Firemen sprayed water on the roof of the EV bus. In particular, it serviced the Ramkhamhaeng University-Victory Monument line. It took about thirty minutes to put out the fire.
This comes as EV vehicles, while suffering a backlash worldwide, are believed to have a niche in Thailand. In particular in Bangkok, where smog and air pollution are significant health hazards.
Sales of EVs in Thailand dipped in 2024, but there is some hope for a recovery in 2025 amid positive trends
However, 2024 was a disappointing year for the Thai EV market. Not only did newly built EV factories face key export market blocks such as the United States and Europe, but domestic sales of EVs surprisingly declined.
Indeed, they fell by 13% compared to the previous year. This came amidst an overall fall of 26.18% for all Thai vehicle registrations.
Thailand’s top Car Insurer to continue to cover EVs despite losses incurred in the sector during 2024 because of claims
Concerns raised about EV vehicles and batteries stored in Bangkok after intense Chatuchak fire
Chinese EV players in Thailand may opt out of subsidies as a difficult year ends. But there is optimism for electric cars
Previously, they were projected to rise sharply. At this time, 2025 looks a bit more promising. Nonetheless, for the first two months, EV sales dipped by under 1% compared to last year.
There was some good news with registrations of EVs in February 2025 at 5,164 units. This was up 42.1% from the same month last year. Meanwhile, the 1% dip came amidst an overall fall in new registrations of 10% compared to last year.
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Further reading:
EV sector crisis as Chinese firms are trapped between lack of demand and government tax penalties
Thailand changes tack as EV revolution turns into a damp squib with warehouses full of unsold cars
Top Thai insurer says no more new policies for EV cars. Later, it emphasised renewals case by case
Lack of coherence in government policy is the root cause of Thailand’s massive economic problems
Disturbing questions that must be confronted over Thailand’s reeling economy are China and EV cars
First-quarter GDP growth surprises analysts based on higher tourism and consumer spending growth
