BYD parking garage fire in Shenzhen caused by improper construction work

Preliminary investigations have ruled out battery safety issues after a fire broke out at a multi-story parking garage in Shenzhen's Pingshan district in the early hours of Tuesday, according to local fire authorities and BYD, China's leading EV maker.

Emergency response teams from the municipal and district levels, including fire and rescue services, arrived promptly at the scene and quickly extinguished the fire without casualties.

According to Chengdu-based media outlet Hongxing News, BYD said that the fire occurred in a designated parking area for test and scrapped vehicles at its Pingshan campus. Preliminary investigations showed that the incident did not involve any battery-related safety issues, nor did it affect production vehicles or those in use by customers. The fire was caused by improper external construction operations, and there was no battery self-ignition or quality problem with mass-produced vehicles.

Authorities and BYD have moved to clarify these points to ease public concerns over EV safety, emphasizing that the incident was an isolated, operation-related accident rather than a flaw in vehicle technology or manufacturing.