BYD announced that its electric car did not explode in Hong Kong as reported, but that it was a charger malfunction due to overheating. This will not affect the operation of electric taxi cabs.
BYD's board of directors said a BYD wall-mounted charger at Oi Man Estate parking lot partly melted on June 18. The electric car then used another charger, finished charging and left, Nanfang Daily reported on Thursday.
There was no other damage, and neither the electric car nor the charging facilities showed signs of explosion. It was the overheating at the connection point that led to the melting.
Hong Kong media reported earlier that a BYD electric taxi exploded while charging.
After the incident, BYD stopped using chargers installed at Linghui parking lot, including the Oi Man Estate parking lot, and arranged cars to charge at a maintenance station. According to BYD's announcement, this incident will not have a significant impact on the normal operation of electric taxis.
Hong Kong's first batch of 10 BYD all-electric e6 taxis was put into operation on May 15. A total of 45 e6 taxis will be in service.