Chinese electric carmaker NIO recently announced that it is issuing an order to recall nearly 5,000 of its flagship electric SUV. NIO decided to issue the recall order following several reports claiming that the car's batteries caught fire. Not all NIO ES8 will be recalled though, only those manufacturer from April 2, 2018, to October 19, 2018.
The recall will affect 4,803 NIO ES8 models. More specifically, these cars are equipped with a NEV-P50 battery pack. To prevent future incidents from happening, NIO is pulling all NEV-P50 from its production line and replace it with a safer alternative.
NIO ES8 SUVs that were manufactured after October 20, 2018, are equipped with a NEV-P102 battery pack which sports a completely different structural design. NIO said that these battery packs do not pose the same risk as to the NEV-P50.
The recall came at a crucial time for the company. NIO started delivering ES8 in its native country of China in June 2018. Sales surpassed expectations in succeeding months but has slumped in 2019. During the first quarter of the year, NIO reported loss amounting to more than $390.
According to NIO, it will replace the battery packs of all affected cars. The company added that it should around two months to replace the batteries of all affected cars. After receiving multiple reports of batteries catching fire, NIO launched an internal investigation with the help of some industry experts, the supplier of the battery packs, and at number of "concerned parties."
NIO's investigation found out that the module installed in the battery pack was pressed against a voltage sampling cable located in the wiring harness. Due to repeated contact, wore down some of the cables, which in turn caused the battery to short circuit and caused a fire.
To prevent this from happening again, NIO said that it would use a new battery pack that has a different structural design. The company added that it would properly compensate all affected customers.
In a statement, the Chinese carmaker said, "NIO would like to sincerely apologize to our users and the public for the trouble caused by the safe battery incidents. As a user enterprise, NIO takes quality concerns seriously and will act with honesty and transparency."
Electric cars are notoriously susceptible to catching fire. This is true to all car manufacturers, and not just a select group. Even Tesla, the world's most prominent electric car manufacturer, is susceptible to these flaws.
