Car Vrum

In the Netherlands, the worldwide recall concerns 6,208 cars built between May 4, 2018 and March 2, 2020: 5,436 Hyundai Kona Electric and 772 Hyundai Ioniq Electric. According to the Hyundai importer, this is a voluntary recall. Previously, the same electric cars from Hyundai already received a software update to the battery management system, but that measure was apparently not sufficient.

Most expensive recall in history

There are a total of fifteen cases of Hyundai batteries that have caught fire. Nobody was injured. According to Hyundai, the cause is a production error by LG, which makes the batteries for the Kona Electric and Ioniq Electric. LG first tried to place the blame on Hyundai, but has now entered into an agreement with its client to pay most of the recall costs. Because the global action costs Hyundai more than 750 million euros, making it the most expensive recall action ever.

Burning electric car difficult to extinguish

Fuel cars can also go up in flames, but a fire in an electric car is much more problematic. A lithium-ion battery burns extremely quickly, extremely hot and is difficult to extinguish (the extinguishing water is difficult to get to the cells of the battery). A burning EV currently has to be submerged in water for over a week to extinguish it completely. For example, the fire brigade uses an open container for this.