South Korea Sees Unprecedented Recall of 5.12 Million Vehicles in 2024
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Seoul, Dec 22 (NationPress) The total count of vehicles voluntarily recalled by manufacturers in South Korea has hit a remarkable high this year, with almost 80 percent of the recalls traced back to the local leader Hyundai Motor Group, as indicated by traffic authorities on Sunday.
A staggering 5.12 million units spanning 1,684 distinct models were recalled due to various defects, as reported by the Korea Road Traffic Authority. Both Hyundai Motor and Kia collectively accounted for 4.07 million units, which is approximately 79.2 percent of the entire recall figure.
This year's total far exceeds last year's 1.69 million recalled vehicles and also shatters the previous record of 3.25 million units set in 2022, according to Yonhap news agency.
The recalls were primarily prompted by manufacturing defects identified in several widely-used models from Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. under the Hyundai Motor Group.
"Given that many of the recalls involved popular models, the overall number naturally escalated," remarked an official from the agency.
This year also witnessed a notable uptick in the recall of electric vehicles, with over 1.2 million units recalled, surpassing the 707,088 units in 2021 and 187,560 in 2020.
In March, Hyundai and Kia initiated a voluntary recall of nearly 170,000 EVs to rectify a software glitch, marking one of the largest single recall incidents for electric vehicle models to date.
Earlier this month, Hyundai Motor, BMW Korea, and three other automakers voluntarily recalled close to 300,000 vehicles due to defective components.
The five manufacturers, including Kia Corp., Honda Korea, and Mercedes-Benz Korea, are recalling a total of 298,721 units across 84 different models.
Last month, Kia, Ford Sales and Service Korea, and two additional carmakers voluntarily recalled over 58,000 vehicles due to faulty components.
The four companies, which also include Renault Korea Motors and Stellantis Korea, are recalling a cumulative 58,180 units across five different models, as reported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Stellantis is a joint venture established in 2021 through the merger of the U.S. automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and the French automaker PSA Groupe. It markets Jeep and Peugeot brands in Korea.
