The batteries are to be replaced in 82,000 vehicles worldwide. Hyundai expects costs of 740 million euros.
Logo of the South Korean car maker Hyundai.
The South Korean automaker Hyundai wants to replace the battery systems in 82,000 electric vehicles from its own production worldwide due to the potential fire hazard.
The return campaign will cost around one trillion won (739.80 million euros), the automotive company announced on Wednesday. Together with its smaller sister Kia, Hyundai is the fifth largest car manufacturer in the world. About 76,000 SUVs of the Kona EV model, the Ioniq Elektro and a few hundred electric city buses are affected.
The decision to replace the battery system comes after a return campaign by Hyundai Motor last October. The reason given at the time was faulty software in the battery systems of the Kona EV.
In January of this year, the South Korean authorities started an investigation into the effectiveness of the action after one of the cars that had previously been called to the workshop caught fire. According to the company, 14 battery fires have been reported worldwide since the model was launched in 2018.
The South Korean manufacturer of batteries for the Hyundai models, LG Enery Solution, meanwhile, according to reports by the national news agency Yonhap, rejected the accusation of the transport ministry that the fires could be attributed to defective battery cells. LG announced that it would continue to participate in the joint investigations into the cause of the fire.
