Update (July 30, 2019): Hyundai Canada is assisting in the investigation, according to Jean-François Taylor, Senior Product Public Relations Specialist: "We are currently working with authorities and fire investigators in Montreal to understand the root cause of the incident, as this is not yet known. As is always the case, the safety of our customers is our first priority and we will push to fully understand the issue as quickly as possible."
Original article follows:
A Hyundai Kona Electric, the fully electric version of the Hyundai Kona crossover, allegedly caught fire and exploded in a Montreal man's garage last Friday.
According to the CBC, Piero Cosentino noticed black smoke coming from his garage Friday afternoon and suspected his car was on fire. The car then exploded, blowing the door off of his garage.
Firefighters were called to the scene around 1 pm and were able to extinguish the blaze. No one was hurt in the ordeal.
Strangely, Cosentino says the car was not charging at the time and was not plugged into an outlet in his garage. The car seems to have spontaneously combusted, as the Montreal fire service told CBC there was no other possible source of fire in the garage at the time.
While fires of internal combustion vehicles happen often and do not grab headlines like EV fires do, EV fires seem to occur while the vehicles are parked.
Tesla opened an investigation into a vehicle fire in China earlier this year after security camera footage showed the car spontaneously catching on fire whilst parked in an underground garage. The company concluded that the vehicle, a Tesla Model S, had a faulty battery pack module and issued an over-the-air update to remedy the problem.
Cosentino said he has only owned his Hyundai Kona Electric since March. Hyundai has not yet indicated if it will open an investigation into the fire, though it would seem likely considering the vehicle is relatively new to the market and has only been in the customer's possession for a few months.
