Comprehensive foreign news reports The large-scale recalls of electric vehicles worldwide have forced Hyundai to significantly reduce its operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2020, despite reports that its battery supplier LG Chem will bear most of the cost of the recall.

    According to local Korean media reports, LG Chem, the battery provider of the batch of vehicles, will bear 70% of the cost of the recall. Cho-Hyun-ryul, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said that the burden on LG Chem is estimated to be slightly lower, about 62% of the cost of the recall. Since then, LG Chem also sharply reduced its operating profit by more than 80% to 119 billion won.

    It is worth noting that among the recalled vehicles, Kona KONA is Hyundai's highest-selling electric car; at the same time, this is also the world's first recall of large-scale replacement of battery packs. More importantly, through this recall, it will also provide a precedent for how the future "car companies-battery companies" will share the cost of the recall. As of now, Hyundai Motor and LG Chem have not made any comments on this.

    According to the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kona electric vehicles have had 15 fire accidents so far, including 11 in South Korea, 2 in Canada, and 1 each in Finland and Austria. In October last year, Hyundai Motor had been recalled due to the Kona electric car fire incident and carried out related software upgrades; but in January this year, a Kona that had been recalled suffered another fire accident, prompting relevant Korean authorities to respond An investigation was launched.

    More than that, almost synchronized with the hidden danger of fire, the Kona electric car is also deeply involved in the hidden danger of the braking system. In December last year, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced that Hyundai-Kia will recall 47 models of more than 80,000 vehicles sold in South Korea, of which more than 60% are new energy vehicles.

    Specifically, a total of more than 50,000 new energy vehicles, including Hyundai Kona electric vehicles, Hyundai hydrogen-powered vehicles NEXO, and Kia’s Soul electric vehicles, have been recalled; the reason for the recall is that the vehicle’s electric braking system software is defective, which may Causes the brake pedal to become heavier and even the brake fails. It is worth noting that at the beginning of last month, a South Korean Hyundai Kona electric car suddenly failed its brakes on a downhill road. The car lost control and hit the shoulder wall, causing serious injury to the driver.

    Hyundai-Kia frequently recalls new energy vehicles due to core systems such as batteries and brakes, once again causing consumers to question the safety of new energy vehicles.