Do Electric Vehicles Catch Fire More Than Petrol Cars?
A single viral video of an electric vehicle on fire can spread across the internet within hours, shaping public perception almost instantly. Headlines often frame battery fires as evidence that electric vehicles are inherently dangerous, subtly suggesting that EVs ignite more easily than conventional petrol or diesel cars.
Over time, this perception has grown powerful enough to influence consumer hesitation, policy debates, and even emergency-response narratives. However, when we move beyond sentiment and examine real-world data collected over more than a decade of large-scale EV deployment, a very different picture emerges.
Electric vehicles do catch fire. But importantly, they do not catch fire more often than petrol cars. In fact, evidence from multiple countries shows they burn significantly less frequently.
.webp?ops=f_auto,w_640)
What the Data Really Says About Vehicle Fires
Across major automotive markets, vehicle fire statistics overwhelmingly point to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as the dominant source of risk. In the United States, transportation safety data cited by fire authorities suggests that a vehicle fire occurs roughly every 2 to 3 minutes nationwide, translating into hundreds of thousands of incidents annually.
The vast majority of these involve gasoline or diesel vehicles.
Analyses combining vehicle sales figures with fire incident reports estimate around 25 fires per 100,000 electric vehicles sold, compared with approximately 1,500 fires per 100,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. This gap is substantial and difficult to ignore.
European data reinforces this trend. In Sweden, authorities recorded just 23 fires among about 611,000 electric vehicles in 2022, representing a fire incidence of 0.004 percent. During the same period, 3,400 fires occurred among roughly 4.4 million petrol and diesel vehicles, corresponding to 0.08 percent.
In simple terms, conventional combustion vehicles were about 20 times more likely to catch fire in one of the world’s most electrified car markets.
Global research initiatives tracking verified EV fire incidents estimate EV fire risk at roughly 0.001 to 0.002 percent, compared with about 0.1 percent for petrol and diesel vehicles. Depending on assumptions around fleet age and reporting completeness, this places combustion vehicles at a 50- to 100-fold higher fire risk.
More recent data from Poland between 2020 and 2025 recorded 51,142 vehicle fires, of which 50,833 involved ICE vehicles, 222 involved hybrids, and just 87 involved electric vehicles. Even after adjusting for EV market share, the figures show no evidence that electric cars are more fire-prone than conventional vehicles.
Why the Myth Persists Despite Clear Evidence
If the numbers are so consistent, why does the belief that EVs catch fire more often continue to spread? In my view, the answer lies in visibility, novelty, and misunderstanding rather than actual probability.
Petrol vehicle fires are routine. They occur so frequently that they rarely become national news unless they involve casualties or major disruptions. EV fires, on the other hand, remain relatively rare. This makes each incident feel exceptional and newsworthy.
When an EV fire does occur, it is often filmed, analysed, and replayed repeatedly across platforms. One dramatic incident can generate more attention than thousands of ordinary ICE vehicle fires combined, creating a distorted perception of risk.
%20-%20Main.webp?ops=f_auto,w_640)
There is also a technical dimension. Lithium-ion battery fires behave differently from fuel fires. They can burn longer, require specialised suppression methods, and in some cases reignite after appearing extinguished. This can lead to extended firefighting operations and striking visuals such as heavy smoke, water flooding, and road closures.
While these scenes reinforce the idea that EV fires are uniquely dangerous, the underlying reality is that they are statistically uncommon events.
Understanding the Causes of EV vs Petrol Car Fires
Most electric vehicle fires originate from severe battery damage rather than spontaneous ignition. High-impact collisions that compromise battery enclosures, internal manufacturing defects, flooding-related water intrusion, or failures in charging systems can trigger internal short circuits.
In rare cases, this leads to thermal runaway, where heat spreads rapidly between battery cells.
Petrol vehicle fires are typically linked to fuel leaks, ruptured tanks, overheated engines, or electrical faults igniting flammable vapours. Because liquid fuel is stored under pressure and remains continuously combustible, ICE vehicles inherently carry a persistent ignition risk, especially as they age or experience mechanical wear.
The crucial distinction, therefore, is not simply about danger but about frequency. EV fires are technically complex but infrequent, while petrol vehicle fires are simpler yet vastly more common.
What Safety Authorities and Researchers Conclude
Safety agencies tend to use cautious language, but their conclusions are telling. Fire departments acknowledge that EV fires can present unique operational challenges, particularly in cooling battery packs and preventing re-ignition.
At the same time, they consistently emphasise that electric vehicles account for only a small fraction of total vehicle fire incidents.
Independent investigations into post-crash fire behaviour have also found that the likelihood and severity of lithium-ion battery fires are comparable to, or slightly lower than, those associated with petrol and diesel fuels.
This reinforces a broader consensus emerging across regions: electric vehicles are not fireproof, but they are not more dangerous than conventional cars in terms of fire risk.
The Bottom Line
Electric vehicles do sometimes catch fire. That reality should not be ignored or downplayed. However, the widespread belief that they ignite more often than petrol cars is not supported by modern, large-scale data.
Across North America, Europe, Australia, and other markets, EV fires occur less frequently — sometimes by an order of magnitude or more.
From my perspective, what keeps the myth alive is not statistics but storytelling. EV fires are unfamiliar, visually dramatic, and heavily shared. Petrol vehicle fires are familiar, routine, and largely unnoticed.
As electric mobility continues to scale globally, clearer public understanding will be essential. The numbers are no longer speculative or aspirational. EV fires are real, but they are rarer than gasoline vehicle fires — and the gap is wider than most headlines suggest.
.webp?ops=f_auto,w_640)
Frequently Asked Questions — FAQs
Q. Do electric vehicles catch fire more often than petrol cars?
- No. Multiple international datasets show that electric vehicles catch fire significantly less often than petrol or diesel vehicles.
Q. Why do EV fires get so much media attention?
- Because they are still relatively rare and visually dramatic. Lithium-ion battery fires behave differently, often burning longer and requiring specialised firefighting methods.
Q. What usually causes an electric vehicle fire?
- Most EV fires are linked to severe crash damage, battery defects, water exposure, or charging system failures, rather than spontaneous ignition.
Q. Are EV fires more dangerous than petrol car fires?
- They can be more complex to extinguish, but overall research suggests their propensity and severity are comparable to or slightly lower than petrol vehicle fires.
Q. Can EV fires reignite after being extinguished?
- In rare cases, yes. Thermal runaway in battery cells can cause delayed re-ignition, which is why firefighters monitor affected vehicles carefully.
Q. Should fire risk stop people from buying EVs?
- Based on current evidence, fire risk alone is not a strong reason to avoid EV adoption, as overall incident rates remain lower than those of conventional vehicles.
