Hyundai Motor is drawing up plans for the world’s most expensive electric vehicles recall to replace batteries following a string of electrical fires, according to people familiar with the situation.
The South Korean carmaker said in October that it would recall 77,000 Kona electric cars made between September 2017 and March 2020 after more than a dozen caught fire due to battery problems. The carmaker is now considering replacing the vehicles’ batteries after a recalled Kona model caught fire even after receiving software upgrades, an endeavour that could cost it as much as Won1tn ($900m), the people said.
The cars that caught fire used LG Chem battery cells made in the South Korean company’s factory in Nanjing, China.