Auckland Accident Details
On October 22, 2025, at about 9:20 PM, an Auckland Transport electric bus (operated by Kinetic New Zealand under contract) collided head-on with a petrol car on Tamaki Drive. Both vehicles caught fire. Tragically, the 61-year-old bus driver (Sean Cleary) died in the blaze; the car’s driver was seriously injured. Early reports indicate the car’s engine ignited first, spreading fire to the bus.
Crucially, the bus’s lithium-ion battery pack was found to be undamaged and not a factor in the fire. Auckland Transport and police say a full investigation is under way. However, Kinetic’s managing director Calum Haslop confirmed that all evidence so far points to the petrol car as the fire’s origin. There is no official finding yet on cause or fault, but authorities emphasize the bus’s battery system appears to have held integrity.
Global Electric-Bus Incident Trends
Compared to overall fleet size, electric-bus fires are very rare internationally. One analysis found only about 27 verifiable high-voltage battery fires worldwide since 2010, across an estimated 250,000+ electric buses. Transit agencies report only a handful of incidents in recent years. For example, London’s TfL noted five electric-bus fires since 2020 (only one involving the battery).
In the US, isolated depot and garage fires have attracted attention. For example, a June 2025 blaze at SEPTA’s Philadelphia yard destroyed dozens of decommissioned buses (including Proterra EVs). Chinese cities operate huge electric-bus fleets (Shenzhen alone has about 16,000 EV buses), yet public reports of battery fires there are scant.
Overall, experts emphasize that such fires are exceptional events. They are usually linked to specific faults, such as faulty wiring, poor maintenance, or crash damage. They are not a systemic EV-technology hazard. In short, Auckland’s crash-related fire appears to be an isolated tragedy. It does not seem to be part of any broad pattern of electric-bus failures.
Major Electric-Bus Manufacturers
BYD (China): BYD is the world’s largest e-bus maker. Headquartered in Shenzhen, BYD also has European plants (Germany, Hungary). It has delivered over 110,000 new-energy buses globally, holding about 23% of China’s bus market in 2024. BYD buses use iron-phosphate or NMC batteries. While BYD reported no battery-related bus fires in its long history, it issued a minor safety recall. An NHTSA notice (2024) covered about 227 BYD transit buses for a defective mirror-control fuse. This fuse could overheat and pose a fire risk. Importantly, this issue was not in the propulsion battery itself. We found no public cases of a BYD bus’s main battery actually igniting.
Proterra (USA): Based in California (with manufacturing also in South Carolina), Proterra was once a leading U.S. e-bus producer (models like ZX5 and Catalyst). It has faced several safety problems. In 2024, NHTSA recalled about 483 Proterra buses (2019-22) due to a radiator-fan electrical fault. This fault could overheat and ignite. Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, and its transit division was acquired by Phoenix Motorcars. U.S. transit operators have experienced fires in Proterra vehicles. For example, SEPTA (Philadelphia) is in litigation with Proterra over earlier depot fires involving stored Proterra buses. These actions allege defects in Proterra’s battery/electrical systems. (In our sources, however, Proterra’s battery cells themselves were not always the confirmed cause – often it was related to electronics or coolant issues.)
Solaris (Poland/Europe): A subsidiary of CAF (Spain), Solaris manufactures a wide range of zero-emission buses in Poland (with a factory in Germany). It is Europe’s leading e-bus supplier by deliveries. By end-2024, Solaris had delivered 3,074 zero-emission buses in Europe (about 14% of Europe’s e-bus fleet). In 2024, Solaris sold 705 e-buses to EU customers. Solaris models (Urbino electric) have no public record of battery fires or failures in available sources. We found no reports of fires linked to Solaris vehicles; indeed, European recalls have involved other brands (e.g., Paris’s recall of French Bluebus EVs).
Yutong (China): Yutong is the world’s largest bus-maker overall, based in Zhengzhou, China. Yutong builds thousands of electric city buses annually. According to AP News, Yutong uses lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries in nearly all its models. LFP chemistry is inherently more thermally stable (less prone to runaway fire) than some alternatives. Yutong buses operate widely in China and overseas; we found no major reported battery-fire incidents involving Yutong vehicles in recent industry or media sources.
Volvo Buses (Sweden): Volvo produces electric models (e.g., Volvo 7900 Electric) primarily in Sweden and Poland. Volvo is a major global OEM, but our sources did not flag any electric-bus fire issues for Volvo. (No public records of battery fires in Volvo’s electric transit buses were found.)
Alexander Dennis (UK): Alexander Dennis (ADL) is headquartered in Scotland (owned by Canada’s NFI Group). The Enviro series (Enviro200EV, Metrodeckers) are widely used in the UK and internationally. ADL remained the UK’s market leader in 2024, delivering about 1,500 buses by year. Our review found no reports of a battery fire in an ADL electric bus. (One recent London incident involved an Optare/Switch Mobility EV double-decker catching fire; TfL evacuated it as a precaution and briefly pulled route-200 vehicles. However, TfL later clarified that the root cause was under investigation and not directly attributed to a systemic battery defect. A separate January 2024 fire involved an ADL hybrid bus, unrelated to the battery.)
Legal and Regulatory Aftermath
So far, no public lawsuits over e-bus fires have emerged from this Auckland case. More broadly, legal action has been rare. Authorities typically address e-bus fires via recalls or repairs. In the U.S., for instance, Connecticut’s 2022 bus fire led to a nationwide recall of New Flyer buses (issues with battery casings). SEPTA’s 2025 yard fire (decommissioned Proterra buses) is tied to SEPTA’s ongoing litigation with Proterra over earlier fires.
Aside from that, we found no reported class-action suits or trials in NZ, China, or Europe directly over an electric-bus fire. Industry and regulators have focused on corrective measures. For example, France’s RATP authority ordered recalls of certain electric buses after Paris depot fires. In China, incidents (like charging-station or cell failures) have led to investigations but no known lawsuits. In short, accountability so far falls to manufacturers and operators fixing defects. NZ authorities will likely do the same rather than go straight to litigation.
Conclusion
The Auckland crash/fire appears to be an isolated incident arising from a vehicle collision. It is not a symptom of a systemic flaw in electric buses. Internationally, electric-bus fires are extremely uncommon given their rapid growth. However, the tragedy underscores the need for vigilance. New Zealand may review its EV-bus safety protocols (battery monitoring, crashworthiness, emergency response) as adoption grows. But based on current data, the Auckland case is best viewed as a rare accident, not evidence that electric buses are inherently unsafe. Our sources suggest that while ongoing audits and training are prudent, there is no urgent global pattern demanding drastic regulation changes in NZ beyond normal safety diligence.
Sources: Authoritative news and industry reports have been used throughout (e.g., RNZ, NZ Herald, 1News, AP, Reuters, academic reviews, transit agencies, and manufacturer statements) to ensure accuracy of details.