How safe are electric cars?

There’s a lot to like about electric cars – they’re swift and serene to drive around and they’re good for the planet. But are they safe?

That’s a bit of a rhetorical question these days considering most electric vehicles on sale in Australia today are fairly new and, subsequently, equipped with all the latest active driving aids and electronic safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), pedestrian detection, radar cruise control and lane keeping assistance.

But electric cars are fundamentally different to conventional combustion engine-powered vehicles from the components that drive them and, in some cases, how they are constructed.

At the affordable end of the scale, models like the Nissan LEAF, Hyundai Kona Electric, Hyundai IONIQ and the MG ZS EV are adapted from a traditional petrol-powered model with the same body and basic backbone.

They therefore utilise mostly identical crash structures while the electric motor occupies the space of a petrol engine and the battery is generally mounted in the rear where a petrol tank would normally be.

Dedicated EVs, like those from Tesla, are designed from the outset with a different philosophy, using the battery pack as a structural part of the vehicle’s platform.

This is commonly referred to as a ‘skateboard’ and allows for more efficient deformation in front and rear crash structures and stronger passenger cells.

As electric motors are physically smaller than most combustion engines, and require fewer auxiliary systems, they have less inertia in an accident which allows for vehicle engineers to better manage their movement in an accident and improve occupant protection.

And because they aren’t fed with a mixture of flammable fuel and hot oils, electric vehicles are unlikely to spill volatile liquids in the event of a serious crash.

That’s not to say that high-density battery packs don’t have their own unique issues, holding flammable electrolytic solvents while having the potential to overheat and catch fire. Not to mention the threat of electrocution.

Lithium-ion batteries do have the potential to catch fire if they are overcharged, but all EVs on sale in Australia feature fail-safe measures such as only allowing users to replenish batteries to 80 per cent capacity while recharging on a high-voltage rapid or ultra-rapid charger.

They can also overheat if ruptured in an accident.

But, in all cases, battery packs are protected by a unique high-strength shield that restricts them from being pierced in an accident while computer management systems will shut down the high-voltage electrical system to eliminate any chance of electrocution if it detects that occupants may be exposed.

Following the widespread introduction of EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the past decade, the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began an investigation into the potential fire hazards of lithium-ion batteries as long ago as 2012, discovering the risks are “somewhat comparable to or even slightly less than those for gasoline and diesel fuels”.

Manufacturers such as General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan, which have all been prominent pioneers of modern electric cars, have subsequently published training guides for first responders and fire fighters attending to accidents involving electric vehicles.

Most vehicles, from the Nissan LEAF to the Mercedes-Benz EQC, are even fitted with QR codes on critical body parts which inform emergency workers on where and how to safely cut the vehicle when needing to extract a passenger using machinery such as the ‘jaws of life’.

Where problems have been identified, such as a recent recall issued for the Hyundai Kona Electric, they should be swiftly attended to in the same way as faults identified with regular vehicles.

On the whole, all battery-electric cars – including plug-in hybrids – are put through the same series of stringent crash test procedures by independent bodies such as Euro NCAP and ANCAP.

And all of the EVs currently on sale in Australia – from the most affordable MG ZS EV to the Audi e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQC and the Tesla Model 3, Model S and Model X – have been given a top-shelf five-star safety rating.