Hyundai Motor Company submits Kona battery recall plan following fire to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport tomorrow

Input 2021.02.18 16:38

About Kona Electric Vehicles (EV) where fires occurred several times Hyundai Motor Company (005380)Submits a plan for remediation (recall) of manufacturing defects to completely replace batteries to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

According to industry sources on the 18th, Hyundai Motor Company submits a recall plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 19th in relation to the Kona fire. The corrective plan is to replace the battery cells, battery packs and battery systems of Kona EV. The replacement cost, which is estimated to reach KRW 1 trillion, is expected to be shared in consultation with LG Energy Solutions, a battery maker of Kona EV.

Kona EV is Hyundai Motor’s main electric vehicle model with a total of 160,000 units sold at home and abroad. A total of 15 fires have occurred in Korea since the first fire was reported in May 2018. Accordingly, Hyundai Motor Company implemented a recall to update the BMS (battery management system) at the end of last year, but a fire broke out in the vehicle that received the recall, and controversy grew. On the 15th, a fire broke out in the Hyundai Electric Electric Bus vehicle that was driving in Yangsan, Gyeongnam.

When Hyundai Motor Company submits a recall plan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will officially announce it to investigate the adequacy of the recall and proceed with the recall. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Automobile Safety Research Institute, which have been investigating the cause of the Kona EV fire since October last year, plan to announce the cause of the Kona EV fire in the first half of this year.