[Angry Battery] ① CEOs Not Driving Electric Cars... No Response to Fires?

Most Battery Executives Use Gasoline Company Cars
Choi Yoon-ho, Samsung SDI CEO, Drives BMW i7 Electric Sedan
Calls for Leading by Example to Emphasize 'Safety'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] “The CEOs who make electric vehicle batteries don’t actually drive electric cars.”

Among domestic battery company CEOs, only Choi Yoon-ho, CEO of Samsung SDI, drives an electric sedan. Other CEOs do not usually use electric vehicles. Although electric cars have rapidly become popular, battery company leaders still insist on gasoline cars.

An investigation into the vehicles used by the CEOs and executives of the three major domestic battery companies?LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI?revealed that they drive premium gasoline sedans such as Hyundai’s Genesis G90, EQ900, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Only CEO Choi drives BMW’s electric sedan, the new i7. This is the very vehicle purchased as a corporate car for company presidents when Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse in December last year. The i7 is equipped with Samsung SDI batteries.

The external reason why most battery company CEOs do not drive electric cars is due to group policies. Major groups provide corporate cars appropriate to the rank of each affiliate’s executives. Many companies designate specific vehicles for ranks such as president, executive director, and managing director. The problem is that electric cars are not included in the list of designated vehicles. Samsung also provided the Genesis as CEO Choi’s corporate car until it purchased the BMW electric sedan. A battery industry insider said, “There are not enough large electric sedan models suitable for executives to drive,” adding, “Because the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging is still insufficient, they have no choice but to drive gasoline cars for now.”

However, there are claims that it is unreasonable for CEOs to drive gasoline cars while promoting the popularization of electric vehicles and the excellence and safety of batteries. This is because many electric vehicle fires have originated from battery defects. The main causes of electric vehicle fires have been identified as manufacturing defects in batteries, overcharging during use, and strong external impacts such as traffic accidents.

When a fire starts in a high-density energy battery and 'thermal runaway' begins, the temperature can rise up to 700 degrees Celsius and the fire is difficult to extinguish. Even if the flames on the outside disappear, internal flames can generate new thermal runaway. This is why extinguishing electric vehicle fires is challenging. The biggest reason consumers still hesitate to choose electric vehicles is safety concerns.

According to a perception survey on 'electric vehicles' conducted by market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor on 1,000 adult men and women (2021), only 28.2% responded that 'electric vehicles are safe.' This is a decrease from 34.4% in 2018. Additionally, 36.3% answered that they 'postpone purchasing electric vehicles due to safety concerns.'

The number of electric vehicles, which was only 860 in 2012, increased to 389,855 by the end of last year. Along with this, the number of electric vehicle fires has also increased: 11 cases in 2020, 24 in 2021, and 44 last year, showing a yearly rise (Fire Department data).

Battery companies emphasize that they are developing and supplying batteries that are safe from fire. Through the development of heat dissipation structures and materials, their batteries prevent thermal runaway during fires, avoiding large-scale fires. However, if battery company executives themselves do not drive electric vehicles, trust inevitably decreases. It is pointed out that executives from president level down using electric vehicles equipped with their company’s batteries is the best marketing strategy to alleviate consumer anxiety and grow the battery market for electric vehicles.

Lee Ho-geun, chairman of the Automobile Committee at the Citizens’ Coalition for Consumer Sovereignty and professor of automotive studies at Daeduk University, said, “It can be a good marketing tool if battery company executives drive electric vehicles first. If top executives use electric vehicles for work and are frequently exposed, it can serve as sufficient promotion,” but added, “However, there is still reluctance because there are not yet electric vehicles of a grade suitable for executives to drive.”