A sightseeing tour company in San Diego is having to hit the brakes on rentals after about 30 of its vehicles, including several powered by lithium-ion batteries, went up in flames Thursday night, authorities said. Firefighters responded to the blaze at GoCar Tours at 9:22 p.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Mónica Muñoz. They quickly extinguished the fire in the back of a single-story commercial building and called in a hazmat team, she said.
Boone, however, said it does not appear that any of the lithium-ion batteries caught fire. Rezende told The Times on Friday that it's possible the gasoline-powered vehicles started the fire, which then spread to the EVs. 'Requirements for electric vehicle safety standards are very, very high,' he said. 'Electric vehicles are statistically less likely to catch fire spontaneously than an internal combustion engine vehicle.