Electric cars catch fire much less often than fossil fuel cars

The claim that electric cars are dangerous due to a high fire risk is often put forward by opponents of electric cars. But according to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), gasoline or diesel-powered cars are 19 times more likely to catch fire compared to electric or plug-in hybrid cars.

In 2022, only 24 electric or plug-in hybrid cars caught fire in Sweden, which accounted for approximately 0.004 percent of all such vehicles in the country. On the other hand, around 0.08 percent of fossil fuel-driven cars caught fire. The number of fires in electric cars has remained consistent at around 20 per year for the past three years, despite a nearly doubled number of electric cars in Sweden, totaling nearly 611,000. The MSB includes trucks and buses in their compilation, noting that the majority of these vehicles are still diesel-powered.

https://www.msb.se/sv/aktuellt/nyheter/2023/maj/brander-i-eltransportmedel-under-2022/

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