Drivers have many concerns about all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, including the potential for fires. Sadly, a Jeep Wrangler 4xe recently caught fire while charging and destroyed three other vehicles, including two Tesla vehicles. While EV fires aren’t common, the internet is reacting and wondering what went wrong to cause the SUV to go up in flames. 

All-electric cars don’t typically catch fire while charging 

According to KRON 4, the fire happened on April 30th at the Google headquarters in Mountain View. Firefighters responded to it at around 4:43 p.m. that day. As mentioned, there was a Jeep Wrangler 4xe, which is a plug-in hybrid, charging in the parking lot when someone noticed smoke and flames coming from it. Sadly, the fire also spread to two Tesla vehicles and a Honda that were also in the parking lot. 

The good thing is that the firefighters acted quickly and were able to get the fire under control. Though still unfortunate, none of the other all-electric cars that were charging caught fire. Additionally, there were no injuries reported. The fire department said, “The origin of the fire was determined to be the Jeep Wrangler EV. The cause of the fire was determined to be related to the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery charging system.“

Following the fire involving the all-electric cars, there is about $275,000 worth of damage. This includes damage to the vehicles and the EV charging station at the Google campus. As mentioned, though not unheard of, EV fires are rare. Regarding the fire, it could have erupted for several reasons. A short circuit is one of the most common causes of EV fires. Still, this is a developing story.