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Two hours against the fire – how electric cars (still) are becoming safer
At car shows, manufacturers like to talk about ranges, charging power and acceleration figures. The real news of this year's Auto China in Beijing, however, was hidden deep in the vehicle floor. There, where no one looks: in the battery. Since July 1, 2025, China has the new standard GB 38031–2025 for high-voltage vehicle batteries. What at first sounds like a technical regulation could prove to be one of the most consequential regulatory decisions in electric mobility. For the first time, a state mandates that the battery of an electric car after damage may no longer catch fire or explode – and for at least two hours.
For the taxi and rental-car sector this is far more than a detail from the world of engineers. After all, hardly any vehicle type covers as much mileage as a taxi. Safety, reliability and resale value often decide more about the economic success here than the last kilometers of range.
End of fear?
Electric cars have been contending with a particular problem for years. Statistically they do burn less often than vehicles with internal combustion engines. But when a battery catches fire, the images are spectacular. Burning vehicles in parking garages, on ferries or at charging stations have burned themselves deeply into the public consciousness. The new Chinese standard addresses exactly this concern. In addition to the two-hour fire safety requirement, it demands further protective measures. Vehicles will in the future have to pass a special underbody crash test. In addition, early warning systems are mandatory, which must warn occupants no later than five minutes after the onset of a critical cell reaction. Toxic gases must not enter the passenger cabin by that time.
“That is a very good example of user-oriented regulation,” says Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management. “The state defines the safety goal, the industry must provide the technical solutions.”
Why Batteries Catch Fire in the First Place
To understand the significance of the standard, it's worth taking a look inside modern batteries. Most of today's high-voltage batteries use liquid electrolytes. These organic solvents have an energy content similar to fuels. If a cell is damaged or overheated, it can lead to the so-called thermal runaway – an uncontrolled thermal reaction. The heat from a cell ignites neighboring cells, until eventually the entire battery storage is affected.
“It is not possible to prevent one or two cells in a vehicle battery from being damaged,” explains Jens Tübke from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. What is decisive, however, is to prevent the spread to neighboring cells. “To limit the fault to the outbreak site through a safe design of the battery packs is the real task of modern battery technology.”
This is exactly where the new standard comes into play.
Manufacturers must rethink
For car manufacturers, GB 38031–2025 means a substantial development effort. Battery packs will in the future require additional protection mechanisms, better cooling and new concepts for venting hot gases. Some manufacturers are opting for stronger isolation of individual cells. Others integrate the battery more closely into the vehicle structure or develop new housing concepts. Porsche is among the manufacturers that have already aligned their vehicles to the new requirements.
„The battery system is an integral part of the vehicle's safety architecture,“ says Marco Schmerbeck, head of energy systems of the Cayenne range. In a crash the energy acts on the battery housing, not on the cells themselves.
At the same time, alternative cell chemistries are gaining significance. In particular lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), as used by many Chinese manufacturers already, are regarded as thermally more stable than classical nickel-manganese-cobalt systems. They typically offer lower energy densities, but are far less prone to overheating.
What this means for taxi operators
At first glance the standard seems far removed from the day-to-day life of a taxi operator in Germany. In fact, its effects could become noticeable faster than many expect. Vehicles are now developed for global markets. Manufacturers can hardly afford to design one battery architecture for China and another for Europe. Therefore, safety standards introduced in China are often adopted worldwide at a later stage.
For taxi operators this yields several advantages.
- The operating safety of the vehicles increases. Especially with high annual mileage and intensive use, every additional safety reserve reduces the risk of unplanned failures.
- Insurers can respond positively in the future to improved battery safety. Although there are currently no concrete tariff adjustments, the probability of a claim remains one of the most important factors in every calculation.
- Safety increasingly influences residual values. Used-car buyers pay particular attention to the condition and reliability of the battery in electric vehicles. A strictly regulated and demonstrably safe battery technology can strengthen confidence in the used-car market.
China sets the standard
The real message of the standard, however, goes beyond fire protection. Europe was long regarded as the pace-setter for vehicle safety. Seat belts, crumple zones or ABS were developed here and driven forward regulation-wise. In electric mobility the balance of power is increasingly shifting.
„If China implements it this way, it marks a turning point for battery construction and e-mobility,“ says Fraunhofer expert Jens Tübke.
Indeed, a notable role reversal is taking shape here. Not European regulators define the next major safety standard, but the Chinese Ministry of Industry. German manufacturers such as BMW, Porsche or Volkswagen have already prepared their vehicles accordingly.
Content automatically translated.
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