20:42 30-12-2025

How hybrid car design and weight raise crash and fire risk

Hybrid cars, long treated as a middle ground between greener driving and familiar technology, may be less safe than many assume, The Times reported, citing industry experts.

Their assessments suggest the risk of a driver’s death in a crash involving a hybrid could be up to three times higher than in vehicles with traditional internal-combustion engines. A key factor is the design complexity: these cars pair a gasoline engine with an electric motor and a traction battery, which makes managing system integrity during emergencies more difficult.

High-voltage components and battery packs are more susceptible to ignition, and damage in a collision can spark fires that are hard to extinguish with standard means. Weight adds another layer: batteries and electric hardware increase overall mass, reshaping crash behavior and the way impact energy is distributed. On the road, that complexity can turn split seconds into critical variables.

The result, experts note, can be more severe consequences for the hybrid’s driver and for others involved. Emergency services also need dedicated training and equipment to work safely with hybrids—something carmakers acknowledge in their own procedures.

For example, in March 2025 Ford announced a recall of several thousand Ford Kuga plug-in hybrids over a short-circuit risk that could lead to a fire. For the car market, this is a pointed reminder that progress in technology has to move in step with safety.

Hybrids are indeed more complex and heavier than conventional cars, and that should not be overlooked when judging their safety. Until technology and rescue infrastructure are fully adapted, these risks will remain. Fuel savings are compelling, but buyers would do well to weigh them against realistic crash scenarios—the kind that reveal how a vehicle behaves when theory meets the real world.