[imagesource:youtube/swns]

The shocking moment a family’s £50,000 (that’s just over R1 million) electric Mercedes burst into flames as it charged in their driveway was caught on CCTV cameras.

In dramatic CCTV footage, the luxury EQA model erupted in a fiery explosion just steps from Scott and Georgina Bayliss’ front door. The intense blaze quickly spread, igniting their garage and sending smoke spiralling into the front bedroom of their Spratton, Northamptonshire home, the Daily Mail reports.

The car started smoking at first, which the family heard from inside but thought it was just fireworks until their car erupted into flames. Emerald-green flames burst from the bonnet as the fire consumed the entire car, creating a surreal and terrifying scene. In a desperate bid to control the inferno, 47-year-old Scott grabbed a hosepipe, hoping to douse the blaze before it spread any further.

As firefighters sped to the scene after 17-year-old James raised the alarm around 9:15 PM, the family sprang into action, salvaging what they could. In the chaos, one family member hurriedly pulled a second car off the driveway, steering it out of harm’s way, while others braved the heat to try and subdue the raging flames with hosepipes.

By the end of the footage, Scott, his son and their neighbour all watched the vehicle crumble before their eyes as they tried to hose it down.

Image: YouTube /SWNS

Scott said he and Georgina were baffled about the cause of the fire which engulfed their car as the battery was charging.

“The pace and ferocity at which the fire took hold and engulfed the entire car and pretty much the entire front of our house was scary beyond belief.”

One theory suggests that the car, purchased in 2022, may have entered a “thermal runaway” event—a phenomenon where the battery begins to overheat uncontrollably, unable to cool itself down. This rapid heat buildup can trigger dangerous, self-sustaining reactions within the battery cells, often resulting in fires or explosions as seen in this harrowing incident.

Scott, who works in food manufacturing, added: ‘We don’t know for sure what’s happened, but based on knowledge and video footage, it looks like the car went into some thermal runaway.

He said an initial investigation found the vehicle to have been left in such a bad state that it was difficult to know what was the root of the problem. Mercedes-Benz UK is apparently continuing the investigation and has loaned the family another car “as a gesture of goodwill.”

“It’s a subjective view, but for all intents and purposes, it feels like a battery fire,” Scott added.

“How many other Mercedes around the world are that close to fires?”

What a mess, Mercedes.

[source:dailymail]