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More than 1400 luxury electric vehicles are being recalled in Australia amid warnings their batteries could short circuit and catch fire while being driven.

The federal transport department issued the recall on Tuesday for Mini Cooper SE electric cars sold in Australia between 2020 and 2023.

The warning follows a recall of more than 140,000 Mini Cooper vehicles issued by manufacturer BMW worldwide earlier this month.

The transport department warned the software defect that affected 1408 cars in Australia had the potential to “increase the risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants”.

“The high-voltage battery management software has insufficient protections for short circuit events,” it said.

“As a result, if a short circuit occurs it could lead to a vehicle fire whilst driving or parked.”

The faulty software could be remedied with a software update and owners should contact a local Mini dealer urgently to have it installed, the transport department said.

The Australian recall comes two weeks after BMW recalled more than 140,000 electric Mini Cooper vehicles worldwide, including 39,000 in Germany and more than 12,000 in the United States.

“A vehicle fire, even when the vehicle is parked, cannot be ruled out,” the company said in a statement.

Despite concerns about electric vehicle safety, Australia has recorded only six electric car fires since 2010, according to EV FireSafe, including one case of arson, two collisions, and three parked near a blaze.

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
(Australian Associated Press)