Do Electric Cars Catch Fire More Than Petrol Cars? The Australian Data

Do electric cars catch fire more than petrol cars? No, and the gap is not close. EV FireSafe, the Australian research outfit funded by the Department of Defence, had verified 772 passenger EV traction battery fires worldwide between 2010 and October 2025, roughly one per 100,000 EVs on the road. Australia’s own count: 13 verified EV battery fires since 2021, in a fleet that passed 500,000 plug-in vehicles in early 2026.

Petrol and diesel cars burn far more often. Fire and Rescue NSW attended around 11,582 vehicle fires across all fuel types in the four years to 2025 in one state alone, and Swedish government data cited by the Electric Vehicle Council puts conventional cars at roughly 20 times more likely to catch fire than EVs.

So why does every EV fire make the news? Partly because they are rare, partly because when they do happen they behave differently to petrol fires, and partly because a genuine lithium battery fire problem, in e-bikes and e-scooters, keeps getting pinned on cars. The details are worth understanding before you park one in your garage.

How Often Do Electric Cars Catch Fire in Australia?

Thirteen verified EV traction battery fires since 2021, and none of them spontaneous events in a healthy parked car. Of the Australian cases EV FireSafe had verified by March 2026 (reported by the NRMA), three started as external fires that spread to the car, two were arson, four followed high-speed collisions, and the remainder were unresolved or under investigation.

The global picture is similar. Collision and road debris damage is the largest identified cause at 22.5 per cent of verified cases, ahead of manufacturing defects at 9.7 per cent, with arson, external fires and water submersion making up small shares and roughly half unresolved. The pattern matters: EV battery fires overwhelmingly follow physical damage or an external ignition source, not normal parking and charging.

Now the denominator. Australia had more than 450,000 plug-in vehicles on the road by late 2025 according to the Electric Vehicle Council, passing 500,000 in early 2026. Thirteen fires over five years in a fleet that size works out to roughly three per 100,000 vehicles, spread across the entire period.

The Lithium Battery Fires You Read About Are Not Cars

Most “lithium-ion battery fire” headlines in Australia are about e-bikes, e-scooters and cheap gadget batteries, not electric cars. Fire and Rescue NSW attended 315 lithium-ion battery fires in the 2024-25 financial year. The number involving electric vehicles was zero. E-mobility devices accounted for 111 of them, laptops and small portable devices 99, and battery chargers 31.

The difference comes down to engineering. An EV traction battery is liquid-cooled, crash-protected, and supervised by a battery management system that monitors every cell group and cuts charging when anything drifts out of spec. A $300 e-scooter charged with a mismatched charger has none of that protection. Both are lithium-ion. They are not the same risk, and conflating them is how the myth survives.

That distinction matters practically if you live in an apartment. Fire services worry about e-bikes charging in hallways far more than they worry about an EV in the basement, which is reflected in how Australian regulators have treated each.

Why EV Fires Are Harder to Put Out When They Do Happen

Rare does not mean trivial, and this is the part of the story the sceptics get right. An EV battery fire involves thermal runaway. Thermal runaway is a self-sustaining chemical reaction in which a damaged cell generates more heat than it can shed, venting hot flammable gases and cascading into neighbouring cells.

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) guidance, published through agencies like the ACT Emergency Services Agency, notes that extinguishing and cooling an EV battery fire can require 4,000 to 30,000 litres of water, and that a damaged pack can reignite weeks after the original fire. Australian firefighters are trained to cool the pack, monitor it with thermal imaging cameras and sometimes simply let it burn out at a safe distance.

This is why the honest comparison is frequency versus severity. Petrol cars catch fire far more often. EV fires are rarer but demand more resources when they occur, which is exactly why fire services have published position papers, including Fire and Rescue NSW’s guidance on EVs in the built environment, rather than restrictions.

Chemistry is shifting the odds further. Most popular EVs sold in Australia now use LFP batteries, which resist thermal runaway until much higher temperatures and release roughly half the energy of older NMC chemistry if a cell fails. Our LFP vs NMC battery guide covers which Australian models use which.

Is Home Charging a Fire Risk?

Home charging on a properly installed circuit is not a meaningful fire risk. EV FireSafe’s research found about 15 per cent of global EV battery fires occurred while the vehicle was connected to charging or within an hour of unplugging, and the majority of those involved a vehicle that had been damaged before it was plugged in. Charging did not cause the failure; it added energy to a pack that was already compromised.

You cannot overcharge a modern EV into a fire either. The battery management system stops the charge when the pack is full, regardless of what the wall unit wants to deliver.

The rules that do matter are electrical. Under the AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules, a hardwired home charger must be installed by a licensed electrician on its own dedicated circuit with proper overcurrent and RCD protection. Portable plug-in chargers are legal on a standard socket, but the circuit should be checked if you lean on one nightly. Charging costs are the cheerier side of that equation, and our EV charging cost calculator shows what a full week of home charging actually costs.

Two related money points, both fire-adjacent but not fire-driven. EV comprehensive insurance premiums averaged around $2,300 to $2,500 in 2025-26 against roughly $1,700 for petrol cars, per Compare the Market and Insurance Business data, but insurers attribute the gap to repair complexity and battery replacement cost, not fire frequency. Our EV insurance cost guide breaks the premium data down.

The Underground Car Park Question

There is no Australian ban on electric cars in underground car parks, and no state is proposing one. The Australian Building Codes Board has stated that EVs and chargers in car parks are now common enough that they are no longer treated as a special hazard under the National Construction Code.

Some strata committees have tried blanket bans on basement charging. These sit on shaky legal ground, since by-laws that are harsh or oppressive can be challenged at tribunal, and NSW strata reforms from 1 July 2025 prevent owners corporations refusing a charger installation on cosmetic grounds. Fire services have published risk management guidance for buildings, covering things like charger placement and sprinkler considerations, but guidance is not prohibition. If you are navigating a committee, our guide to charging an EV in an apartment covers the approval process state by state.

For the broader market picture, including which models Australians are actually buying, see our electric vehicles hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do electric cars catch fire compared to petrol cars?

Far less often. EV FireSafe had verified 772 passenger EV battery fires worldwide between 2010 and October 2025, roughly one per 100,000 EVs. Swedish government data puts petrol and diesel cars at around 20 times more likely to catch fire than EVs.

Is it safe to charge an electric car in my garage overnight?

Yes, provided the charger is installed by a licensed electrician on a dedicated circuit, as Australian wiring rules require. EV FireSafe data shows about 15 per cent of EV battery fires occur while connected to charging, and most of those involve a vehicle already damaged before it was plugged in.

Why are EV battery fires so hard to put out?

Thermal runaway, a self-sustaining reaction inside damaged cells, keeps generating its own heat. AFAC guidance says extinguishing and cooling an EV battery fire can take 4,000 to 30,000 litres of water, and a damaged pack can reignite days or even weeks later.

Are electric cars banned from underground car parks in Australia?

No. There is no Australian ban on EVs or EV charging in underground car parks, and the Australian Building Codes Board no longer treats them as a special hazard. Some strata schemes have attempted blanket bans, but these are legally shaky and NSW reforms from July 2025 limit refusals.

What actually causes electric car battery fires?

The leading identified cause is collision or road debris damage, at around 22.5 per cent of verified global cases, followed by manufacturing defects, external fires, arson and water submersion. Roughly half remain unknown. Spontaneous fires in undamaged, well-maintained EVs are extremely rare.