Electric bike and scooter fires are occurring daily, with a "growing risk" prompting urgent calls for new laws. Riders have been warned of the increasing dangers of electric scooters and bikes.
Alarming Rise in Battery Fires
A new report from global business insurer QBE reveals that fire services tackle lithium-ion battery fires roughly every five hours. Data gathered via freedom of information requests shows fire brigades were called to 1,760 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in 2025, equating to 4.8 fires per day. This represents a 147% increase over the past three years.
Electric vehicle fires rose by 133% over the same period, while the number of electric vehicles on UK roads tripled during that time.
Expert Warnings
Adrian Simmonds, Risk Manager at QBE Insurance, said: "Lithium-ion battery fires continue to increase. It's vital that people and businesses take action to better manage this growing risk."
He added: "Thermal runaway caused by these types of batteries burns differently, takes much longer to tackle, and can require up to 10 times more water to contain."
Simmonds also noted that "retrofitted bikes are more prone to these incidents, so we would encourage people to stick to reputable companies when purchasing and avoid unregulated devices."
Fire Brigade Concerns
London Fire Brigade's deputy commissioner for prevention, Spencer Sutcliff, said the brigade remained "extremely concerned" about e-bike and e-scooter fires, and public awareness was vital.
"We believe regulation can help improve product safety and reduce the chance of consumers being exposed on online marketplaces to faulty or counterfeit products such as e-bike batteries, chargers and conversion kits," he said.
National Fire Chiefs Council Statement
A National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) spokesperson said the findings reflected what fire and rescue services were seeing on the ground.
"We are especially concerned about fires involving poorly manufactured, modified or converted e-bikes, which continue to account for a disproportionate number of incidents. Many of these fires occur in people's homes and people have tragically died as a result," the spokesperson said.
"NFCC is working with fire and rescue services, government and partners to improve research, guidance and public awareness, but this is a rapidly evolving area where regulation and guidance have not kept pace with technology. We believe stronger action is needed to ensure industry takes responsibility for product safety and that clear, consistent guidance is available to protect lives and reduce fires."
