(Yicai) Feb. 26 -- BYD's FinDreams Battery intends to apply its prowess in batteries for electric vehicles to e-bikes, the unit said after a fire that started from electric bikes in a residential building in Nanjing killed 15 people last week.

FinDreams will use its research and development achievements to develop safer batteries for two-wheelers, the subsidiary of the Shenzhen-based Tesla rival announced yesterday. Some of the reasons for possible overheating include substandard batteries, aged wires, and overcharging, it added.

On Feb. 23, a fire started in a bicycle storage of a high-rise building in eastern China's Nanjing, resulting in 15 deaths and 44 injuries. The specific cause is still under investigation.

Chinese streets are dotted with e-bikes. The nation had 21,000 fires caused by electric two-wheelers last year, up by 17 percent from the year before, according to the National Fire and Rescue Administration. In 2022, the growth rate was 23 percent.

The BYD unit is a veteran in the field as the company began studying lithium-ion cells in 1996 and its products are used in automobiles, new energy, consumer electronics, and rail transit.

Editor: Emmi Laine