AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/29 Report--

Recently, three fires in Weimar have aroused widespread concern within 30 days.

On October 5, a parked Weima EX5 electric car caught fire by the side of the road and was scrapped after the accident. On October 13, a Weima electric car also caught fire while charging, causing serious damage to the vehicle. It is worth mentioning that the two fires took place in Fujian Province and were operated by new energy taxis.

On October 27, another Weima EX5 caught fire and exploded in Haidian District, Beijing. The front cabin and front seats were completely destroyed, and the whole car was facing scrapping. After the accident, Weima issued a recall message and decided to recall 1282 2020 Weima electric vehicles because the battery suppliers mixed with impurities in the production process, resulting in abnormal lithium precipitation of the power battery. in extreme cases, it may lead to a short circuit in the cell, causing the power battery to heat out of control and the risk of fire.

According to the Weima recall announcement, the power battery cell used in the recall vehicle is ZNP3914895A-75A, and the financial news agency and other media reported that the battery manufacturer is ZTE High Energy.

In response to the news, ZTE High Energy announced on its official WeChat that in the two Weima car fires in Shaowu City, Fujian Province, the vehicles involved were carrying ZTE high energy batteries, but on the 27th Weima cars caught fire and exploded without high-energy technology batteries.

In other words, the Weimar car that caught fire on the 27th was carrying batteries from another supplier, and only Weimar itself may know which manufacturer it is. It is understood that at present, Weimar's main battery suppliers include Ningde Times, Tafel, ZTE High Energy and Ruipu Energy.

According to relevant data, Weima produced a total of 15700 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2020, of which Ningde era 9692 (61%), Tafel 3313 (21%), ZTE High Energy 2257 (14%), Ruipu Energy 532 (4%).

The installed capacity of ZTE High Energy is 2257 vehicles, why only 1282 vehicles are recalled, and what is the recall standard? In addition, which owners of the same battery model need to be recalled, and what should be done with the remaining 975? Weimar has no clear explanation in the relevant instructions.

What is inexplicable is that Weimar sells only 20,000 vehicles a year, but its battery suppliers are as high as four, which are basically unheard of except for the Ningde era.

Some people in the industry said that in order to supply safety and control costs, vehicle manufacturers will generally choose two battery suppliers to facilitate mutual coordination and restriction. However, it is rare to choose four suppliers. The more suppliers, the higher the cost. Whether it is the pre-trial cost or the use process, it is difficult to form a large-scale cost, which will increase. In addition, even for the sake of mutual restriction between suppliers, we will choose competitors with equal strength, rather than competitors who are not at all at the same level.

According to Tianyan, ZTE High Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, was registered and established in Wuhan East and West Lake Airport National Economic and technological Development Zone on April 9, 2016. mainly committed to the research and development, production and sales of new energy vehicle power battery products. According to ZTE High Energy official sources, its partners include Chery, Hanteng, Geely, Zhongtai, Zhengzhou Nissan and other mainframe factories in addition to Weima Automobile.

Relevant parties have admitted that there are defects in power battery cells, which indirectly or directly lead to word-of-mouth questions about Weima and ZTE High Energy products. More importantly, ZTE High Energy is not the only company supplying Weima Motors. Other car companies may initiate recalls because of the same problems in the future.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat