Hyundai Motor Group to recall more than 180,000 cars due to defects

SEOUL – South Korea’s government said on Oct 30 that more than 260,000 cars will be recalled due to manufacturing defects, including over 180,000 from Hyundai Motor Group.

“A total of 260,184 vehicles across 57 models manufactured, imported or sold by Hyundai Motor, Kia, BMW Korea and Stellantis Korea will be voluntarily recalled due to identified manufacturing defects,” the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The ministry added that among this total, more than 180,000 cars from Hyundai Motor Group will be recalled.

“Hyundai Motor will recall 85,355 units of the Porter II Electric model from Oct 30 due to a potential fire risk caused by a design flaw in the battery management system software,” the ministry said.

It added that Kia, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, will begin recalling 54,532 units of the Bongo III electric vehicle (EV) model from Oct 30 for the same software defect, which could lead to fires.

Other recalled models from Hyundai Motor included the Tucson, which was recalled due to a design flaw in fuel filter components, and Kia’s Seltos, which was recalled over a similar defect that could cause the engine to shut down.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Komoco Motors, the distributor for Hyundai Motor, said that the Porter model is not sold in Singapore and the Tucsons sold here are imported from Europe.

AFP has reached out to Hyundai Motor Group for a comment.

An EV battery fire in 2024 damaged hundreds of vehicles and created a national panic, with carparks across

South Korea imposing a wave of ad hoc restrictions

amid growing calls for transparency on battery supply chains.

South Korea is a major producer of batteries and EVs, including local carmakers Hyundai and Kia, with EVs making up 9.3 per cent of new cars purchased in 2024 – higher than in the US. AFP