Asian Tech Press (June 5) -- A Volkswagen electric car caught fire after a collision in China on Monday, killing a driver and three passengers.

At around 5:43 a.m. on June 5, a small ordinary passenger car was leaving the Hangzhou toll gate station along the S2 Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway when it collided with toll station facilities and caught fire, killing the four people on board, according to a statement from traffic police in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The local public security authorities are currently investigating the accident further. And as of press time, Volkswagen Group China has not issued any public response to the incident.

Although police have not identified the vehicle involved in the accident as being from German car manufacturer Volkswagen, videos circulating on the internet show that the vehicle was a Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV.

The video shows that the electric car was about to pass a toll booth when it failed to slow down and crashed directly into the booth's platform.

Immediately after the collision, the car started to catch fire and the flames were very violent.

Witnesses said the toll booth staff tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher for rescue, but it was in vain because the fire was too heavy. Eventually, the four people in the car tragically died.

Actually, this is not the first Volkswagen electric car fire in China this year. On 17 April, a Volkswagen ID series electric car caught fire in Shanghai when it suddenly lost control and crashed into a roadside barrier.

In China, under its new mandatory national standard for electric vehicles, effective from 2021, the battery system should not catch fire or explode within 5 minutes after thermal runaway of the battery unit, allowing time for vehicle occupants to escape safely.