The statistics presented in this report cover incidents involving fires in e‑bikes and e‑scooters that occurred from January to December 2025. The data is limited to consumer products including e‑bikes, e‑scooters, mobility scooters and e‑unicycles.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) received information on 267 fires involving e-bikes or e-scooters that occurred in 2025. The majority of these reports (214) were from London Fire Brigade.
In terms of product type, in 2025 OPSS received reports of 217 e-bike fires, with 38% (82) reported as converted e-bikes. Additionally, OPSS was notified of 46 fires involving e-scooters, 3 involving a mobility scooter, and one involving an e-unicycle.
The statistics include figures relating to property type, which refers to the classification of the location where the notified fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters primarily occurred. This provides insight into the environments most affected by such incidents. When grouped by broader setting, the top three property types where the notified fires occurred were indoor or residential environments, accounting for 55% (147 incidents), followed by outdoor spaces at 25% (66 incidents). A further 2% (5 incidents) were reported in transport settings, and 18% (49) were classified as unknown.
In 2025, 88% (235 incidents) of fires involving e-bikes or e-scooters notified to OPSS were recorded with batteries or generators as the source of ignition. Of the remaining incidents, 6 were attributed to electrical distribution sources. The source of ignition was unknown in 26 cases.
Charging status was known for 178 (66%) out of 267 incidents. Of all 267 fires, 32% (86 incidents) were confirmed to have occurred while the product was on charge, and 34% (92 incidents) were not charging at the time of fire. The remaining 33% (89 incidents) had an unknown charging status.
The proportion of charging-related fires varied by product type: 41% of fires involving e-bike conversions occurred when the product was on charge (34 of 82), followed by 30% for manufactured e-bikes (11 of 37), 29% for e-bikes of unknown build (28 of 98) and 26% for e-scooters (12 of 46). These figures should be interpreted in light of the number of incidents with missing charging data, which may affect comparability across categories.
The latest statistics highlight the continued importance of robust controls around the charging and storage of e-bikes, e-scooters and other lithium-ion battery-powered devices, particularly within the communal areas of residential and commercial properties. With a significant proportion of fires linked to batteries and many occurring whilst devices were on charge, property owners and responsible persons should ensure that charging arrangements are carefully managed through suitable policies, designated charging locations, regular inspection of electrical installations and the avoidance of charging within protected escape routes, corridors, stairwells and other common areas. As the use of these devices continues to increase, organisations should review their fire risk assessments to ensure that lithium-ion battery risks are appropriately considered and that controls are in place to minimise the potential impact of a battery fire on occupants, property and means of escape.
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