South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor will call for the inspection of almost 77,000 Kona electric cars in North America, China, Europe, South Korea and other markets.
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They risk igniting the battery. Petr Michník from the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech plant in Nošovice in the Frýdek-Místek region told ČTK that cars manufactured in the Czech Republic are not covered by the inspection.
Last week, the South Korean company announced that it would call 25,564 Kona electric cars for service from the domestic market. According to Jonhap, 37,366 of the same cars in Europe and 11,137 in North America will also have to undergo the inspection. There is no time schedule for convening in the manufacturer’s declaration.
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“This does not apply to our cars. We have another battery manufacturer. The call concerns cars manufactured before March 2020, which coincidentally is the date when Kona electric cars began production at our company in Nošovice.” said Michník. The carmaker in Nošovice started serial production of the Kona Electric car in mid-March as the first electric car produced in the Czech Republic.
The South Korean Ministry of Transport said last week that the carmaker Hyundai was voluntarily convening Kona cars because the battery could short-circuit and risk ignition.
LG Chem, which supplies batteries to Kona cars, said last week that defective batteries were not the cause of the ignition and that the cause had not been determined. She tested the car together with its manufacturer and none of the batteries ignited.
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Kona cars called in South Korea will have their software updated, and the manufacturer will replace the battery on some models.
KB Investment & Securities estimates that the convening event could cost Hyundai up to 600 billion won (CZK 12 billion) if it replaces the battery of almost 77,000 affected cars worldwide.
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