Porsche Taycan EV Catches Fire in China, Driver Burned to Death

The news comes from Suzhou city of the southern Jiangsu Province, China, where a Porsche car went up in flames. The incident occurred on September 14, 2022, and the news spread like wildfire on the internet in China. Reportedly, the vehicle in the video was identified to be a Porsche Taycan EV vehicle, which is the flagship electric sports car from the Volkswagen Group of Germany.

According to media reports, the Porsche Taycan EV was involved in an accident and was immediately engulfed by fire. Reportedly, it hit a guardrail near a shopping mall, which led to the aftermath. The onlookers quickly tried to rescue the occupant of the car, but couldn't get its door open.

Unfortunately, the driver, expected to be in his thirties, fell victim to EV fire. Apparently, a video of the incident surfaced on the internet later, which showed the people passing by trying their best to save the driver but in vain.

The reason behind the fire is still unknown and is currently under investigation. The Porsche dealership would be actively cooperating with the authorities to find the root cause of this incident. This isn't the first time that the Porsche electric sports car has been in the news for an EV fire. One of the first Porsche Taycan EVs in the US met a similar fate when it was parked. The car was a 2020 make and was parked in a residential area and was left to charge overnight. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident but the fire caused significant damage to the car and the garage where it was parked.

According to a report from 2021, about 60 percent of the Porsche Taycan EVs sold have battery-related issues. Allegedly, the Taycan's 800V high-voltage onboard charger can overcharge some of the battery cells, which could cause them to overheat. In such situations, the battery management system of the car disables the overheated battery cells, which can result in a lowered battery capacity or reduced overall driving range. Also, the overheated cells in the battery could prove to be fatal and could lead to an EV fire.