Hyundai Motor, Kia to Recall 170,000 EVs in South Korea

By Kwanwoo Jun

Hyundai Motor and sibling company Kia will recall around 170,000 electric vehicles in South Korea for faulty software that could cause a power loss while driving.

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement Thursday that Hyundai will voluntarily recall 113,916 EVs in the country from March 18. The recall affects five of the carmaker's Ioniq and Genesis models.

Errors in software for the Integrated Control Charging Unit in the vehicles subject to the recall could make it difficult to power a low-voltage battery, meaning that the cars could stop while running, the ministry said.

Kia will also recall 56,016 units of its EV6 model in South Korea due to the same issue, the ministry added.

The ministry didn't say how many Hyundai and Kia vehicles could be affected by the issue outside of South Korea.

Hyundai Motor Group said that it doesn't yet have an official estimate on the global impact of the latest recall. Some local media outlets reported that around 600,000 EVs could be affected globally.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 14, 2024 04:22 ET (08:22 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.