Hyundai India recalls 456 Kona electric SUVs to fix battery issues

Hyundai Kona EV was India’s first electric SUV to be launched with a long driving range. After the launch of Kona EV, other car manufacturers like MG Motors India and Tata Motors also launched electric SUVs. Hyundai has now decided to recall 456 units of Kona EV SUVs which might have some issues in the battery system. Kona Electric SUVs that manufactured between 1 April 2019 to 31st October 2020 are being recalled. Hyundai has already made announcement saying that they have initiated a recall for Kona EVs to inspect the problem with high voltage battery system.

Hyundai Kona EV was a long awaited product from the manufacturer and it was launched in Indian market last year. Hyundai has announced that all the issues with the battery system of the Kona EV that are being recalled will be rectified free of cost. A notification will be sent to Kona EV customers to take their vehicles to the authorised service station for inspection.

This is not the first time, Hyundai is recalling Kona EV SUVs. Earlier, Hyundai had recalled over 25,564 units of Kona EV in Korea. This recall included software update and battery replacements. Hyundai had recalled Kona EV SUVs that were manufactured between September 2017 and March 2020.

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As many as 13 incidents have been reported worldwide where Hyundai Kona EV had caught fire. It is suspected that the fire is caused by defect in the battery system. It is suspected that the high voltage batteries in the Kona EV have defect and that may have been a reason behind the fire. Hyundai has announced that they will take necessary measures to figure out the exact  reason behind this issue. Currently no such cases have been reported in India.

Hyundai is taking a precautionary measure by recalling all the 456 unit of Kona EV for inspection. Batteries used in Hyundai Kona EV is manufactured by LG Chem Ltd. They had conducted a joint experiment to recreate the fire but, during the experiment, it did not catch fire. Hyundai Kona EV is priced at Rs 23.7 lakh, ex-showroom and is one of the most expensive EVs in this segment.

Like other Hyundai vehicle, even Kona EV is feature loaded. It gets leather seats, heated and ventilated seats, touchscreen infotainment screen, premium audio system, electrically adjustable seats, wireless charger, electric sunroof, electronic parking brake, drive modes, tilt and telescopic steering, reverse parking camera and sensors and so on.

It gets six airbags, ABS, blind spot detection, HSA, disc brake on all wheels, Tyre pressure monitoring system, virtual engine sound and automatic emergency braking system. Hyundai Kona EV is powered by a 39.2 kWh battery pack. It generates a maximum of 135 Bhp and 395 Nm of peak torque. Kona EV has an ARAI certified driving range of 452 kms. The battery can be charged from 0 to 100 percent in 6 hours 10 minutes using an AC charger. it supports fast charging using a DC charger and it can charge Kona from 0-80 percent in 57 minutes.

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