Audi recalls top-of-the-range electric vehicles due to fire risk

A fire safety risk has been identified in more than 200 new electric vehicles, with Audi recalling the model for urgent repairs.

The federal transport department issued a recall for the Audi e-Tron GT vehicles on Thursday due to a safety issue involving their battery housing.

The safety alert comes one week after Tesla experienced one of its biggest electric car recalls to date, involving more than 4300 vehicles, though the issue was addressed with a software update.

Audi’s recall affects 222 models sold between 2022 and 2023, and involves the sealing around vehicle batteries.

“Due to a manufacturing issue, the sealing of the high-voltage battery housing may reduce over time, allowing moisture to enter,” the recall said.

“The moisture may potentially result in an electrical short circuit increasing the risk of fire.”

Audi is expected to contact owners to arrange repairs to the vehicle.

The Australian recall comes months after the German automaker flagged the issue in the US, where it warned about three per cent of its vehicles could be affected by the water issue.

Despite widespread concerns about electric vehicle fires, however, EV Firesafe chief executive Emma Sutcliffe said there had been only six confirmed EV fires in Australia to date.

One had been due to arson, three due to an external fire, one due to a collision and another due to road debris that pierced its battery back.

“In none of these cases were the vehicles on charge, which is a good thing for us to know,” she said.

But Sutcliffe urged all motorists with cars subject to recall to contact their dealer as soon as possible.

The Audi recall comes just one week after market leader Tesla was forced to issue a recall notice for 4382 of its Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in Australia due to a steering wheel issue that could occur “when operating the vehicle in cold temperatures”.

The company issued a software fix for vehicle owners to download and install.

AAP