More than 1,400 luxury electric vehicles are being recalled in Australia amid warnings that their batteries could short-circuit and catch fire while being driven.
The federal Department of Transport issued the recall on Tuesday for Mini Cooper SE electric cars sold in Australia between 2020 and 2023.
The warning follows a recall of more than 140,000 Mini Cooper vehicles issued by manufacturer BMW worldwide earlier this month.
The Department of Transport has warned that the software defect affecting 1,408 cars in Australia had the potential to “increase the risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants”.
“High voltage battery management software does not have sufficient protections against short circuit events,” he said.
‘Consequently, if a short circuit occurs, it could cause a fire in the vehicle while it is moving or parked.’
The faulty software could be remedied with a software update and owners should urgently contact a local Mini dealer to have it installed, the transport department said.
The Australian recall comes two weeks after BMW recalled more than 140,000 Mini Cooper electric vehicles worldwide, including 39,000 in Germany and more than 12,000 in the United States.
“A fire in the vehicle cannot be ruled out, even when it is parked,” the company said in a statement.
Mini Cooper SE electric cars sold in Australia between 2020 and 2023 are being recalled
Despite concerns about the safety of electric vehicles, Australia has recorded just six electric car fires since 2010, according to EV FireSafe, including one case of arson, two collisions and three parked near a fire.