THIS is the dramatic moment a £50,000 electric vehicle explodes into a huge fireball – destroying both cars next to it.
The shocking footage shows the Mercedes EQA going up in flames in a matter of seconds while parked up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
It can be seen smoking for a few seconds before it spontaneously explodes in the quiet residential street.
The explosion – which set a nearby shed ablaze and damaged part of the road – is believed to have been caused by a faulty battery.
The blaze also destroyed two other nearby cars.
James Musonda, who owns the courtesy car, was woken up by the loud bang, mistakenly thinking a tree had fallen on his house.
The 33-year-old pensioner consultant told MailOnline that he was “hysterical” when he eventually realised it was his car and has vowed to steer clear of EVs.
He said: “When I realised it was my car I was screaming and hysterical.
“All I could see was flames when I opened the door. We couldn’t get out the house because of the flames.
“My daughter was in the house. I could have died if I was in that car.”
Mr Musonda continued to explain that the fire brigade managed to get them out, but it kept making little explosions.
They were left very shaken up, and left keen to keep their distance from electric cars.
Fire crews attended the scene until noon the following day,
The Mercedes was recalled to the factory for “safety work” by the German manufacturer in October 2024.
The father-of-one explained that Mercedes had the car until mid-January this year.
The incident occurred six weeks after he got his car back.
Mercedes told MailOnline that it was sorry to learn of the incident that took place in March.
A spokesperson explained that the customer services team have been in contact with Mr Musonda and have kept him mobile in a courtesy car.
In October last year, a similar incident occurred in Northamptonshire, when CCTV captured the terrifying moment an electric Mercedes went up in flames.
The owner of the vehicle, Scott Bayliss said: “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.
He also explained that the initial investigator concluded that the vehicle was in such a bad state that it was difficult to establish what the fault was.
A Mercedes spokesperson said the company could not comment while the investigation was ongoing, but did stress that the company had reached out to the family.
A 70,000 Alfa Romeo was also caught bursting into flames in a Birmingham shopping centre carpark last December.
The terrifying moment saw emergency crews rush to the fourth floor of Selfridges Moor Street to put out the blaze, which managed to destroy one other car.
In an update, a fire service spokesman reported: “Faulty engine from a petrol powered car caused this fire.
An incident recently occurred in Bournemouth too, which saw a 27-year-old woman narrowly escape the flames.
The vehicle suddenly erupted into flames while the driver was dropping off her fiance.
The driver who was inside the car told the news site “it just started smoking and I got out of the car, then it caught fire”.
