Li Auto, who just announced to double production in 2022 at its Changzhou plant in the middle of last month, may have to slow down its moves. On the 24th and 25th of last month, two fires broke out in the Li Auto One for two consecutive days. Fortunately, there were no other flammable objects around the burning vehicle, so the firefighters could quickly extinguish the fire when they arrived at the scene. Somehow, these incidents will undoubtedly make people think that this is not a single case but a problem with the car itself, just like WM Motor, which suffered five fires in two months last year.
Credit: mydrivers
The Li Auto One is a range-extender hybrid vehicle with two electric motors producing 245 kW and a range-extender 1.2 ICE. The battery capacity of 40.5 kWh. The Li Auto One’s engine may have been the main cause of these fires. In fact, this is not the first time Li Auto has had a fire. On May 8, 2020, a flame appeared in the front cabin of the Li Auto One, identical to the recent case. Li Auto announced the fire was caused by a piece of paint protection pad affixed to the front side of the exhaust pipe in the lower part of the engine after a two-week examination. As a result, Li Auto claims that the fire was caused by “a lack of control over process management.” In August of the same year, a Li Auto One was spotted on the expressways in Guangdong Province. The cause was considered a piece of iron penetrating the high-pressure fuel pipe. Thus this may not be the carmaker’s fault.
Li Auto has not responded to the two fire accidents. Stay tuned for further information.
