A fully electric van exploded in a parking area in Lahti, Finland. It was reportedly charging when the explosion occurred, and some witnesses believe it was the charger that exploded. There doesn't seem to be damage to the EV's battery pack.
Authorities arrived at the scene after the explosion and towed the Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric van away. The police chief said he doesn't yet have any details about why the explosion occurred. There was nothing in the car that could have easily exploded and the high-voltage battery wasn't burned.
The interesting part here is that while the Volkswagen electric van reportedly exploded, it still existed in decent shape upon leaving the area of the explosion, and it didn't catch fire, at least not right away. Onlookers noted that there was a loud sound and lots of smoke, but no external signs of a fire. Nonetheless, nearby extinguishing sprinklers turned on, perhaps because of the explosion.
In order to figure out exactly what happened, there will need to be an investigation. However, local news reports suggest the ongoing investigation is seemingly fizzling out. The police started looking into the explosion. They looked for various devices or materials and tried to determine if it could have been a crime. There is some surveillance video of the area, but the Volkswagen EV cannot be seen in the footage.
Sadly, the electric van caught fire days after the explosion, and now, there's very little left of it. It may mean a much more thorough investigation just isn't possible.
Still, people want to know the reason for such an incident, especially the importer of the car itself. However, the importer doesn't make public comments and only says his company will handle it.
It was a shared car for rent that was produced by Volkswagen and rented by the city. The importer aims to have the Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric van examined to figure out what may have happened.
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Keep in mind, just because this is an electric car doesn't mean that's the reason there was an explosion. At this point, there's nothing to prove that this fire is in any way related to the Volkswagen ID. Buzz.
This is a developing story. We are reaching out to Volkswagen for more details. Once we have more information, we'll either update this story or produce a new one.
Source: Yle