FRANKFURT (AFP) - German automaker BMW is recalling almost half a million vehicles worldwide due to an engine part defect, a company spokesman said Friday.

The recall affected models with six-cylinder engines built between September 2009 and November 2011, the spokesman told AFP.

In Germany alone, the number was relatively small at 10,800, because most BMW cars sold were equipped with four-cylinder engines.

The total figure includes some 232,000 cars already recalled in China two weeks ago.

And on Thursday, BMW wrote to 156,000 owners in the US asking them to return their cars to their dealer.

Bolts attached to the variable camshaft control unit in the engines of some cars may become loose or even break, leading to a possible engine malfunction, the spokesman said.