- Many Thai owners don’t want battery replacements, but full refunds.
- A total of 1,668 Volvo EX30s are involved in the battery recall in Thailand.
- Last week, a white EX30 caught fire while charging at the owner’s home.
The trouble with a recall is that it only works if the fix arrives before the thing you were trying to prevent. Three months after Volvo pulled more than 40,000 electric EX30s worldwide over a battery fire risk, Thailand’s consumer protection authority has sued the automaker following two local fires.
Earlier this week, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) met with officials from Volvo following two high-profile fires involving the electric crossover. The first fire occurred around March 25 in Bangkok, while the second occurred on May 15, when an EX30 was plugged in and charging at the owner’s home. The fire quickly spread to a Ford Ranger parked next to the Volvo and also damaged the building.
Read: Volvo Pulls 40,000 EVs Back For Costly Battery Replacement
According to the recall Volvo issued in February, both EX30s that caught fire in Thailand had been charged beyond the 70 percent limit Volvo had recommended as a temporary safety measure. This explanation hasn’t satisfied local authorities, who have filed a civil suit and are seeking damages and refunds for owners.
A total of 1,668 EX30s in Thailand are impacted by the recall. Volvo says replacement battery packs have recently arrived in the country from China and will be installed in customers’ cars from May 22. The OCPB isn’t happy that it took three months for these batteries to arrive after the recall was announced and has asked Volvo how it intends to compensate those owners who’ve been unable to use their vehicles normally over this period.
Owners Want Refunds
Speaking with Reuters, a local EX30 owner, Tanchanok Nowsuwan, has suggested that most owners don’t want a battery replacement, and instead want a full refund. The EX30 recall impacts both Single-Motor Extended Range and Twin-Motor Performance models.
In a statement issued online, Volvo Car Thailand noted that it will take approximately 3 days to replace the battery packs on each affected model.
“Volvo Car Thailand would like to express our sincere concern regarding the two recent fire incidents involving Volvo EX30 vehicles,” it wrote. “We have closely monitored and thoroughly investigated each case and have promptly provided appropriate support and remediation to those affected.”
