5 carmakers to recall nearly 300,000 vehicles for faulty parts

Seoul:  Hyundai Motor, BMW Korea and three other carmakers will voluntarily recall nearly 300,000 vehicles due to faulty components, the transport ministry here said on Wednesday.

The five companies, including Kia, Honda Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea, are recalling a total of 298,721 units of 84 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The problems that prompted the recall include software problems in the integrated charging control unit of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6 all-electric models, a faulty braking system in BMW’s 520i sedan and a faulty impeller of the fuel pump system in Honda’s Accord sedan, according to the ministry.

Vehicle owners can check the government’s homepage at www.car.go.kr or call 080-357-2500 to see if their vehicles are subject to the recall, the ministry said, reports Yonhap news agency.

Meanwhile, sales of imported cars in South Korea fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier in November, industry data showed.

The number of newly registered imported cars came to 23,784 units last month, down from 24,740 units from a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. On a monthly basis, the tally represents an 11.9 percent gain from October.

BMW was the most popular brand last month, selling 6,665 units, followed by Mercedes-Benz, which sold 5,086 units. BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz to take the lead for the first time in three months.

Tesla, Lexus and Volvo followed next, with 3,618 units, 1,370 units and 1,319 units, respectively.

In terms of fuel types, imported hybrid registrations jumped 20.3 percent on-year to 9,960 units, accounting for 50.6 percent of all import car sales. Electric, gasoline and plug-in hybrid model registrations followed with 22 percent, 20.3 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.

—IANS