(LEAD) (News Focus) Mercedes-Benz’s crisis response capacity in question as company keeps silence on S. Korean EV fire

Over a week has passed since a spontaneous Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle fire ended up sparking an EV fire scare in South Korea, but the local unit of the German automotive giant has barely made an earnest gesture to address the issue at hand. Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd.'s lax handling of the situation is raising questions over the crisis response capacity of the company. It is also potentially risking brand reputation in a market where it has enjoyed stable sales growth throughout the years. Public concerns over EV safety have mounted in the country after a spontaneous fire that began in a parked Mercedes-Benz EV ended up obliterating an entire parking garage inside an apartment complex in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, while either completely destroying or damaging over 100 cars. Hundreds of apartment residents still remain in temporary shelters due to a disruption in the water and power supply. Following the incident, the company issued a short statement stating that it was sorry that the acciden t occurred and that it "will immediately investigate the vehicle thoroughly in cooperation with authorities." Since then, a week has passed and Mercedes-Benz Korea has not made a single update in response to media queries, while the press, automotive industry watchers and experts have raised various reports and issues involving EV battery safety risks. A police forensic investigation was carried out earlier this week, but it was unclear whether someone at Mercedes-Benz Korea participated. Company's media representatives declined to comment when asked to verify the matter. Several senior executives at Mercedes-Benz Korea did meet with a South Korean legislator, Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party, a National Assembly representative for the district of Cheongna in Incheon, where the accident occurred, on Wednesday. That, too, was arranged at the request of the lawmaker's office. What comes as perplexing is the fact that Mathias Vaitl, CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Korea, remains overseas on a business trip -- not having returned even after a week since the debacle occurred involving one of his company's vehicles in South Korea. According to sources, Lee stated that given the significant damage caused by the fire, Vaitl should return at the earliest possible time to hold a meeting with the affected community. Company officials replied that the CEO plans to shorten his trip, which was initially set to last until Aug. 20. They also reportedly expressed their intent to promptly meet with the apartment complex residents to listen to concerns and review relief support efforts but stopped short of making any concrete commitments. In a statement sent to Yonhap News Agency on Friday afternoon, Mercedes-Benz said Vaitl is currently on a trip to Germany and "is returning to Korea." The company said the CEO "stays in constant and direct contact with all relevant parties to support the investigation of the incident." Mercedes-Benz also said the South Korean unit's "complete management and st aff is committed to fully support the investigation and identify the root cause of the incident." Mercedes-Benz Korea's stance comes in stark contrast to a voluntary decision by local lender Hana Bank to open up its in-house education campus in the area to be used for emergency relief for the affected residents. To be clear, while CCTV footage showed the idly parked Mercedes vehicle burst into flames without any external shock, investigative authorities have yet to reach a conclusion on the exact cause of the fire. Also, it has been reported that the water sprinkler system at the parking garage apparently did not work at the time, which presumably may have exacerbated the damage from what could have been smaller in scope. Still, residents have expressed frustration that Mercedes-Benz Korea at the moment appears to be more focused on trying to avoid showing any signs of legal liability -- especially after reports of the purported water sprinkler malfunction -- instead of making the slightest of gestures to ward relief support. "Residents are speculating that Mercedes-Benz will do everything it can to avoid legal liability before making any move to offer support," one of the affected apartment residents told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. The person added the residents are concerned that the company could ultimately approach the issue from a hard legal perspective. "We're worried that Mercedes-Benz could come out and say, for example, that while over 70 vehicles were damaged, it may have been limited to only 10 cars had the water sprinkler system properly worked." Looking from a broader industry perspective, watchers point out that Mercedes-Benz is also risking its brand reputation in South Korea, which the German automotive company often calls its fourth-largest market after China, the United States and Germany. Many had speculated that the vehicle in question was likely equipped with battery cells from CATL, the leading global supplier of electric car batteries. To the surprise of many, the battery tu rned out to be from Farasis Energy, a Chinese firm known to be ranked at around 10th globally. Farasis Energy carried out a major recall in China in 2021 due to battery fire risks. It was also learned that Farasis Energy batteries have not once been tested for safety by South Korean authorities. Mercedes-Benz Korea declined to comment on the details of the battery cells in the vehicle. Since the accident, calls for mandatory disclosure of EV battery brand information have grown in South Korea. The company's EV fire issue will likely be brought up at the National Assembly during an annual parliamentary audit later this year, sources said. "We'd like to hold a parliamentary hearing as soon as possible, but we still have to wait for the results of the police investigation surrounding the fire case," the source at the National Assembly said. Source: Yonhap News Agency