This file photo, provided by LG Energy Solution Ltd. on Sept. 3, 2021, shows the showroom at its R&D center in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul.
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Energy Solution Ltd.(LGES) said Wednesday the U.S. auto safety agency’s probe into its batteries is a “follow-up procedure” to the recent recalls of electric vehicles made with LG products, stressing that it does not involve any additional issues.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday (U.S. time) it was opening an equipment query into 138,324 EVs made by Mercedes-Benz Group A.G., Stellantis N.V., General Motors Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. with LG batteries over possible fire risks.
NHTSA said the probe covers “notifying the auto companies of this defect in any vehicles they manufactured and to ensure thorough safety recalls are conducted where appropriate.”
“It is a standard follow-up procedure to check if any identical or similar parts were supplied to other automotive companies,” LGES said in a release. “We expect there will be no additional issues.”
Of the vehicles subject to the query, LGES noted, the probes into the recalls of GM Bolt EVs and Hyundai’s Kona and Ioniq have been completed, while the query on some 17,000 Pacifica plug-in hybrid models by Stellantis is ongoing.
The recall on 351 Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV came due to a simple defect in the soldering of a flexible circuit board attached to the battery module and the supplier has improved its process, LGES added.
The recall of the Mercedes involves only one vehicle due to poor welding, it said.
“We will faithfully cooperate with the follow-up probe,” LGES said.
In 2020, Hyundai recalled its 2019 and 2020 Kona EVs, followed by GM’s November recalls of some 140,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs.
LGES has reimbursed Hyundai 690 billion won (US$566.2 million) and 1.4 trillion won to GM for the recall costs.
(Yonhap)
