AXA Switzerland seems to have it in for EVs. Earlier this year it carried out a crash test with a Tesla where a fire broke out after the underside was scraped demonstrating the possibility of a fire in the battery pack in this scenario. Only there wasn't a batter pack and the fire was staged.
The company has published the following apology in which it maintains that EVs are involved in more accidents than ICE vehicle.
"In light of the reactions to the Crash Test carried out on August 25, 2022, AXA Switzerland wishes to clarify its position as follows:
We regret that this year’s edition of the Crash Tests appears to have given a false impression and created some confusion in relation to electromobility. We firmly believe that e-vehicles will play a key role in the automotive future. This is why we see it as important to take an in-depth look at electromobility and its safety.
"AXA Switzerland’s statistics show that drivers of electric vehicles cause 50 percent more collisions with damage to their own vehicles than drivers of conventional vehicles with combustion engines. What the statistics also show is that drivers of more powerful electric vehicles cause damage to either their own or someone else’s vehicle more frequently. Our aim with this year’s Crash Tests was to draw attention to these insights from our statistics and – at the same time – raise awareness of the risks that can potentially arise with accidents involving battery-powered cars.
Regrettably, we realised after the fact that the test and related communication measures could be misleading, particularly for those who were not present at the Crash Tests and were thus not able to place them in the correct context, given that they were not party to the related commentary.
When simulating an accident scenario where a battery-powered car catches fire, various safety precautions are taken in order to protect spectators. No battery cells were used in the test vehicle, for example, and the subsequent fire was extinguished under controlled conditions. In addition, the Crash Test with a Tesla vehicle did not cause the type of damage to the undercarriage that would be likely to spark a battery fire as the images would appear to suggest. The test that was carried out therefore did not confirm the hypothesis for this accident scenario. We should have made explicit mention of this fact in our communication measures after the test, namely in our press release and the related images that were made available.
In retrospect, the test used to illustrate a hypothetical risk scenario should have been structured differently. Although our press release did mention explicitly that, according to AXA Switzerland’s statistics, electric vehicles do not catch fire any more frequently that combustion-engine vehicles, we are regrettably forced to admit that – in the absence of any context – the image material published appears to give a different impression.
We very much regret the confusion caused and wish to express our sincere apologies. We will analyze the 2022 Crash Tests again in greater detail, learn the lessons we can draw from them, and use these insights in our future work on helping increase road safety."