[단독]Kia’s electric car is also recalled after Hyundai Is targeting the Chinese market bad?

All-new KX3. Photo = provided by Kia Motors

[베이징=이데일리 신정은 특파원] Recalls the first electric vehicle model KX3 (domestic name Seltos) electric vehicle (EV) due to a component defect in China. Following the recall, Kia Motors is concerned about the damage to the brand image in the Chinese market, which is already experiencing difficulties.

According to the China National Market Supervision and Management Administration on the 10th, Dongfeng Yueda Kia, a joint venture of Kia Motors in China, will launch 309 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) KX3 (domestic name Seltos) electric vehicles (EV) from the 22nd. ) Recently submitted a plan to recall due to concerns about system malfunction.

The KX3 EV is symbolic in that it is the first electric car model that Kia introduced in 2018 to target the Chinese electric car market.

This model has been shown to pose a safety risk because the brake pedal becomes heavy when the brake warning light is turned on due to a defect in the integrated electronic brake (IEB) software. Kia Motors is planning to perform a software upgrade by recalling the model.

Although there are not many recalls, a blow to the brand image is expected to be inevitable while Hyundai and Kia are showing poor performance in the Chinese market.

Previously, Hyundai Motor Company decided to recall a total of 2591 vehicles, including NCino (domestic Kona) EV and Lafesta EV, a local strategic vehicle in China, on the 31st of last month due to the same problem. Target vehicles are those produced from March 22, 2019 to December 10, 2020 for NCino EV, and from September 14, 2019 to December 10, 2020 for Lafesta EV.

Hyundai-Kia Motors is evaluated for failing to lead the market by belatedly releasing electric car models in China, the world’s largest electric car market.

Hyundai-Kia Motors has not been ranked in the rankings in the Chinese electric car market. As of November last year, China’s most-selling electric car was the Shanghai Motors Hong Guang Mini (MINI), the Tesla Model 3 in the second place, and the Changcheng Motors Ora R1 in the third place.

The Chinese electric vehicle market has grown in size thanks to the government policy. Although it has recently shrunk somewhat due to subsidies and Corona 19, it is still an important strategic market for global auto brands. According to the Chen Zhen Industrial Research Institute, the sales volume of eco-friendly vehicles in China, including electric vehicles, is expected to reach 1.8 million this year and 2.8 million by 2026.

Accordingly, Hyundai Motor Company is planning to release’NE’, the first car of Ming2 EV and electric car brand Ioniq this year. At the 2020 Beijing Motor Show, Kia Motors also announced its mid- to long-term strategy and vision to develop into a brand that leads the Chinese market in line with the transformation of the business system to build a leading global electric vehicle brand.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group decided to build the first overseas hydrogen fuel cell system production base in China. It is a strategy to target China’s huge domestic market, which is belatedly speeding up the hydrogen economy.

Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities announced that they will recall some models of commercial vehicles of Volkswagen’s Lamborghini Urs and Yunnan Port Tian Shenzhou Motors (CASIC) due to defects in parts. Hyundai Motor Company has recalled the Kona EV due to the same problem in Korea, the United States, and Australia.