Hybrid Car Explosion Risk
A hybrid car exploded in Izegem, West Flanders, while charging, causing severe damage to an adjacent apartment building.
According to Bastiaan Reymer, lecturer in Automotive Technology at Thomas More University, the combination of a fuel tank and an electric component in a hybrid car can increase the risk of explosion.
A case like this is extremely rare, but unfortunately, it cannot be prevented.
Reymer explains that modern electric cars are less prone to catching fire than petrol-fuelled cars, but hybrid cars, containing both technologies, have a slightly increased risk of explosion.
- Electric cars only have a battery, which would burn gradually in case of a fire.
- Hybrid cars combine fuel tank and electric component, increasing explosion risk.
Author's summary: Hybrid cars have higher explosion risk due to combined technologies.