NIO recalls nearly 5,000 electric SUVs after battery fires in China

Leading Chinese EV startup NIO has recalled nearly 5,000 of its ES8 electric SUVs after multiple reports of battery fires surfaced over the last few months in China. SUVs built between April 2nd, 2018, and October 19th, 2018, are included in the recall and will need to have their battery packs replaced. It will take two months to swap out battery packs on all of the affected vehicles, the company says.

The issue is with the battery packs themselves, according to an investigation performed by NIO with the help of “industry experts,” the supplier of the pack, and “other concerned parties.” They found that a module in the battery pack was, in some cases, pressing up against a voltage sampling cable in the wiring harness. Over time, this repeated contact wore down some of those cables, resulting in short-circuits that led to a handful of fires.

NIO says it switched to a battery pack with a different structural design in October 2018, which is why the recall stops there. The company also says it will compensate “all users that incurred property losses in the incidents caused by battery quality and safety issues, in accordance with relevant laws.

“NIO would like to sincerely apologize to our users and the public for the trouble caused by the battery safety incidents,” the company wrote in a statement. “As a user enterprise, NIO takes quality concerns seriously and will always act with honesty and transparency. The company also wants to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have followed and cared for NIO during these incidents.”