Electric Car Explosion is from China, Not Indore

New Delhi, January 5, 2026: A terrifying video of an electric car bursting into flames has been widely circulated across social media platforms including X, WhatsApp, and Threads. In the footage, a white sedan parked outside a residential building is observed emitting thick smoke from its undercarriage before a violent explosion engulfs the vehicle. Recent posts have falsely claimed that this incident occurred in a residential colony in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, causing widespread panic among local electric vehicle (EV) owners in early January 2026.

Reverse Image Search Reveals the Truth

The claims linking the explosion to Indore have been debunked through a detailed digital investigation. Upon conducting a reverse image search of the video keyframes, the footage was traced back to international reports from November 2025. It was discovered that the incident actually took place in a community parking lot in China. The car involved was identified as a Feifan ER6, a Chinese-manufactured electric sedan that is not currently sold or distributed in the Indian market.

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International Reports Confirm the Location

Further verification was provided by several Chinese-language news outlets and international fact-checking agencies. It was reported that the video was captured by a resident in a Chinese neighborhood who witnessed the battery’s thermal runaway from their window. Taiwanese news channel TVBS also broadcast the same footage, explicitly citing the location as mainland China. Despite the local Hindi captions added by social media users, no such explosion has been recorded by the Indore Police or local fire departments during this period.

The Anatomy of a Viral Hoax in 2026

The spread of this misinformation is being viewed as an attempt to stoke fear regarding EV safety standards in India. It was noted by cybersecurity experts that the video was repurposed with “Indore” tags to attract local engagement and “fear-clicks.” Similar hoaxes were observed in 2025, where old videos of vehicle fires in Jaipur were falsely attributed to Chinese EV brands. This recurring pattern of “location-swapping” highlights the persistent challenge of verifying dramatic visual content before it reaches millions of viewers.

Official Clarification and Public Safety

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh have urged citizens to refrain from sharing unverified clips that target specific cities or technologies. It was stated by fact-checkers that while EV battery safety remains a critical global topic, the specific “Indore car blast” narrative is entirely baseless. As 2026 progresses, the public is encouraged to rely on official press releases and verified news channels for information regarding local accidents. The original video serves as a reminder of the hazards of lithium-ion battery failures, but its connection to Indore is confirmed to be false.