China’s Electric Vehicle Fire Safety Index: Safeguarding People’s Lives and Property through Technological Leadership
As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to rise in China, traditional collision tests are no longer sufficient to comprehensively address new risks such as battery thermal runaway, toxic gas emissions, and fire during high-speed collisions. In response to this challenge, Zhaoshang Vehicle Research, a national vehicle testing organization, has created the world’s first China Electric Vehicle Fire Safety Index (C-EVFI). This groundbreaking initiative fills a significant gap in both domestic and international electric vehicle fire safety technical standards and establishes a comprehensive technical system that covers testing, firefighting, rescue, and accident investigation.
Technological Leadership: Four International Firsts Driving Collaborative Optimization Across the Industry
The C-EVFI has achieved four major breakthroughs in the field of electric vehicle safety testing:
- The world’s first dedicated vehicle fire laboratory and integrated testing platform that can simulate real-world fire incidents due to collisions, high-voltage system failures, and battery malfunctions.
- The first quantitative evaluation procedure, introducing a unique “forward development – reverse verification” dual-cycle model that assists automakers in making breakthroughs in 12 key technology areas, including battery management systems and thermal diffusion suppression technology.
- The first complete standard system includes rigorous whole-vehicle bottom piercing tests that exceed the national standard GB 38031-2020, enhancing battery protection, control strategies, and electrical architecture across all dimensions.
- The industry’s first fire safety database offers companies precise risk profiling and optimization pathways.
Scientific Evaluation System: Four-Dimensional Quantitative Assessment to Illuminate Safety Awareness Blind Spots
The C-EVFI evaluates fire safety performance through four dimensions: safety alerts, emergency rescue, fire protection, and data interaction. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods, the index provides independent, objective, and fair assessments of whole-vehicle fire safety performance, with a focus on bottom piercing and mechanical lock testing.
Why is the whole-vehicle bottom piercing test method used? It authentically simulates the impact on the battery’s underside during vehicle operation. The C-EVFI employs a piercing method to trigger thermal runaway, testing for risks of battery explosion during fire incidents. The core elements of this test are:
- Simulating real collision scenarios: A steel needle penetrates battery cells, replicating the penetration of debris like guardrails or gravel into the battery pack. This assesses whether internal short circuits may lead to thermal runaway and evaluates the battery’s intrusion resistance.
- A more stringent piercing test: While the GB 38031-2020 standard requires that battery systems not ignite within five minutes after thermal runaway, the C-EVFI demands that batteries do not catch fire for two hours, allowing more time for passengers and rescuers to take action and encouraging automakers to adopt higher safety standards.
Why is the mechanical lock functionality evaluated? It serves as the “last line of defense” in life-and-death situations. In the event of a fire or collision, the ability of doors to unlock quickly is crucial for escape. Although vehicles are designed with “emergency mechanical handles,” these may fail due to structural deformation, passenger panic, or unfamiliarity in real collision scenarios. The C-EVFI specifically includes mechanical lock functionality in its assessments, testing how doors operate under extreme conditions such as power failure or battery damage.
This evaluation also identifies hidden defects in vehicles, such as poorly positioned handles or complex operations, providing insights for improving the accessibility and intuitiveness of emergency devices. Additionally, the assessment results remind consumers to pay attention to emergency features in vehicles, encouraging them to confirm the presence of mechanical emergency release devices and to familiarize themselves with operating procedures to avoid tragedies due to knowledge gaps in emergencies.
Social Value: From Passive Protection to Active Choice, Supporting Responsible Consumption
The C-EVFI not only provides technical support for automakers but also benefits consumers and public safety. It offers comprehensive decision-making support from vehicle selection to use, presenting publicly available evaluation results that give consumers intuitive fire safety ratings and addressing safety awareness gaps. Consumers can compare the reliability of mechanical locks and battery safety ratings across different models, enabling them to prioritize higher-rated vehicles. This initiative also helps users understand potential risks of electric vehicles, such as signs of battery thermal runaway, enhancing their emergency preparedness during daily use.
Furthermore, the C-EVFI establishes specialized firefighting and rescue guidelines and accident tracing systems for fire and emergency departments. To date, C-EVFI has conducted technical tests for over 100 electric vehicle models from more than 30 brands, including Deep Blue, BYD, Li Auto, BMW, and Tesla. It has identified over 200 fire risk points in vehicles, including in power batteries, high-voltage systems, control systems, and vehicle structures. The five-star rating acquisition rate has increased from 50% in 2023 to 80% currently, significantly improving the fire safety of new energy vehicles.
Looking ahead, Zhaoshang Vehicle Research will continue to upgrade technical standards and plans to launch the C-EVFI 2026 evaluation procedures by 2025, covering more models and scenarios to promote the high-quality development of electric vehicle safety in China. The C-EVFI will persist in driving technological innovation as its engine and adhering to scientific fairness as its standard, reinforcing the safety framework for new energy vehicles, ensuring consumers feel secure in their purchases and use, and providing solid support for China’s leadership in the global new energy vehicle industry.
