Since at least 2010 electro mobility is on the way of changing the future automotive market. Many countries have committed ambitious market penetration targets，and not later than 2020 electric vehicles will account for significant market shares. In order to prevent any consequences for the automotive safety standard，the new safety challenges of alternative vehicles must be addressed accordingly. This is particularly true for the protection against electrical shocks from the high voltage systems in battery electric cars，the fire safety of modern Li ion batteries，and the burst safety of the hydrogen tanks of fuel cell electric vehicles. Furthermore，the safety standards of crashworthiness and compatibility must not be compromised in the new vehicle concepts. The legal requirements addressing these challenges are still under discussion in the working groups and bodies of expert in many countries to be put into force.

In this paper，the current status of safety challenges and the safety performance of battery electric vehicles is presented and discussed，along with adequate concepts of solutions.