The incident occurred on July 6 in the parking lot of the Oasis shopping center in Khmelnytskyi. As reported by the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Khmelnytskyi region, a Nissan Leaf electric car was parked at one of the charging stations when suddenly smoke began to pour from the rear of the car, followed by fire.
It can be assumed that the cause was a short circuit in the car's charging port. But why it happened is unclear – whether it was the charger itself or the car. It is worth noting that the fire occurred with a first-generation Leaf – such electric cars were not officially sold in Ukraine. They were mostly imported used from America, after accidents.
Rescuers of the region noted that the fire was extinguished before the firefighters arrived – powder fire extinguishers used by shopping center employees and drivers of other parked cars did the job. However, this did not save the car itself – judging by the photos, the damage is such that it cannot be restored.
Fortunately, no people were injured.
However, it is worth noting that electric cars catch fire not only during charging. Recently, in Philadelphia, USA, a Tesla Model S Plaid electric car caught fire right while driving. Unfortunately, this car also could not be saved – only a pile of metal remained. Moreover, this happened just three days after purchasing the liftback: the Model S Plaid is a brand new car (by the way, the fastest among production cars), its deliveries began only on June 10.
