The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is launching increased efforts into maintaining EV battery safety. Photo: NHTSA
While Tesla’s cars are largely considered safe from accidents and other driving-related incidents, the biggest criticism of electric vehicle (EV) safety in general is the correlation with battery fires.
In a new bid to push the EV auto industry towards safer car batteries, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Saturday it will increase research efforts towards battery fire-related incidents with its new Battery Safety Initiative, as reported by CNET.
The initiative will look into areas like battery diagnostics, management systems, and cybersecurity to help increase safety in vehicles moving forward. It also includes further research into battery fast-charging systems, and a general look into how companies develop their products.
Many companies like Tesla, GM, and Hyundai have seen recalls from the NHTSA for battery fire risks, showing that the issue isn’t isolated to one company or car. Instead, the EV market as a whole faces the problem of battery-related fires, so it will rely on the US regulator to monitor the issue across the board.
In any case, the announcement from the NHTSA comes as good news, as added regulation of common risks like battery fires will only help increase passenger safety in the future.
