The US government is investigating General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, due to be launched in the UK next year, after new battery pack fires in the high-tech electric car.
One Volt lithium-ion battery pack that was being closely monitored following a government crash test caught fire on Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said, and another recently crash-tested battery emitted smoke and sparks.
GM said the Volt "is safe and does not present undue risk as part of normal operation or immediately after a severe crash".
The latest fires follow a battery fire in a crash-tested Volt six months ago.
NHTSA learned of a possible fire risk involving damaged Volt batteries when a fire erupted in a Volt that was being stored in a car park at a test centre in Burlington, Wisconsin. The fire was severe enough to cause several other vehicles parked nearby to catch fire.
The car had been subjected to a side-impact crash test more than three weeks earlier, on May 12, during which the battery was punctured and its coolant line ruptured.
Last week's tests of three battery packs were designed to replicate the May test. In that test, the Volt was subjected to a simulated side-impact collision into a narrow object like a tree or pole followed by a rollover, the agency said.
The first battery tested last week did not catch fire. But a battery test on November 17 initially experienced a temporary temperature increase, and on Thursday caught fire. Another battery tested on November 18 began to smoke and emit sparks shortly after the rotation.
The tests were conducted by NHTSA and the Energy and Defence departments at a defence facility near Hampton Roads, Virginia. After the first battery fire, GM officials complained that NHTSA did not drain the battery of energy as called for under the car maker's crash procedures. NHTSA normally drains fuel from petrol cars after crash tests, they said.
So far no fires have been reported in Volts involved in road crashes, NHTSA said. More than 5,000 of the vehicles have been sold.
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