Screenshot from Sina Weibo

A preliminary judgment made after the investigation by Hangzhou's fire brigade detachment on Monday shows that the combustion of the electric bike which happened in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday was caused by the malfunction of a lithium battery; however, the manufacturer of the electric bike claimed that the original battery for the electric bike should be a lead-acid battery. 

According to media reports, the electric bike involved was manufactured in 2017. Before 2018, the manufacturer of the electric bike only used two brands of lead-acid batteries for their products. 

Although the victim Wei Shunli's wife claimed that they changed a new battery for the electric bike last year, the investigation team did not find related records and they would make further verifications. 

An insider from the battery industry told The Paper that a malfunction of lead-acid batteries would only cause the surrounding parts to burn but instead, the lithium battery can cause explosion.

Global Times