LG’s battery safety’controversy’ over successive electric car fires… Will the recall model expand?

[이뉴스투데이 고선호 기자] A fire broke out in an electric city bus manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company recently, as authorities investigated the fires in Hyundai Motor’s Kona Electric Vehicle (EV).

In particular, it is known that the electric vehicle battery manufactured by LG Energy Solutions is installed in the electric city bus, raising questions about the safety of the LG battery.

According to industry sources on the 18th, it was confirmed that a fire broke out on an electric city bus heading to the garage after finishing maintenance at a maintenance factory in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 15th.

The electric city bus in which the fire occurred was the’Elex City’ manufactured by Hyundai Motors in 2019.

It is known that the fired bus is equipped with a battery produced by LG Energy Solutions such as Hyundai Motors Kona EV, which is undergoing global recall due to a series of fires.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “In relation to the electric bus fire, we ordered an investigation to the Automobile Safety Research Institute. We will examine whether the fire occurred inside or outside the battery cell, and discuss with the National Institute of Scientific Investigation.”

Although the cause of the fire has not been specifically identified yet, questions about the safety of the electric vehicle battery itself have been raised as fires have occurred in electric vehicles equipped with electric vehicle batteries produced by LG Energy Solutions.

LG Chem said, “We are doing our best to identify the cause and to derive necessary measures with Hyundai Motor Company and related agencies, putting consumer safety first,” he said. “However, there is no final confirmation in this regard.”

For LG Energy Solutions, if it is found that the vehicle fire is caused by the battery, there is a concern that it will adversely affect future orders.

Accordingly, Hyundai Motor Company has stepped up to replace the entire electric vehicle battery as a countermeasure against subsequent vehicle fires.

In fact, Hyundai Motor Company and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are planning to announce a voluntary recall plan on the 19th with the main idea of replacing the battery cells for three types of electric vehicles, including Kona, Ioniq, and Electic.

According to the industry, it is known that Hyundai Motor Company is considering’Plan B’, which replaces LG Energy Solution with SK Innovation’s battery.

Hyundai Motor Company and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport initially tried to recall battery cell replacement only for Kona EV, but it is reported that LG Energy Solutions decided to expand the target vehicle model as other electric vehicles equipped with batteries produced at the Nanjing plant in China also caught fire.

In the case of Ionic, 21,000 units were sold in Korea alone, and if 263 units of Elexity and Kona EV are added, the total number of vehicles subject to recall is expected to increase to 100,000 units.

If the number of vehicles subject to the second recall is expanded, the recall cost is estimated to reach 2 trillion won, and a dispute between Hyundai Motor Company and LG Energy Solutions is likely to be inevitable.

Currently, Hyundai Motor Company and LG Energy Solution are negotiating, but as the truth about the cause of the accident is delayed, they are showing a difference in the position of responsibility.

An industry insider said, “Because Hyundai Motor Company has a moral responsibility for purchasing and installing LG Energy Solution batteries, LG Energy Solution is expected to bear about two-thirds of the recall cost.” However, due to the battery supply and demand problem, this recall is only 1~ I am guessing it will take two years.”

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