ZCZC
BCN-08
SKOREA-AUTOMOBILE-TRANSPORT-BMW
South Korea to fine BMW $10 mn over engine fires response
SEOUL, Dec 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – South Korea said Monday it will fine
German automaker BMW 11.2 billion won ($10 million) for allegedly dragging
its feet in recalling cars with faulty engines linked to dozens of engine
fires.
BMW vehicles bursting into flames made headlines in South Korea earlier
this year, with local media reporting more than 40 cases in 2018 and some
parking lots refusing to accept BMW cars over fears they could catch fire.
The auto giant recalled more than 170,000 vehicles in South Korea with a
faulty exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, which the firm blamed for the
fires.
In August, it announced a recall for Europe and some Asian countries —
including South Korea — of 480,000 cars affected by the same problem, before
expanding it to more than one million additional diesel cars two months
later.
“BMW announced earlier that it had become aware of the connection between
the faulty EGR cooler and the fire only on July 20 this year,” the South
Korean transport ministry said in a statement, announcing the results of a
five-month probe.
“But we discovered that… BMW’s German headquarters had already formed a
special team in October 2015 tasked with solving the EGR cooler problem.”
In addition to the fine, the ministry will also ask prosecutors to
investigate BMW for allegedly delaying acknowledgement of the issue on
purpose and dragging its feet on the recall.
In South Korea, six out of 10 imported cars are from Germany, with BMW
selling nearly 39,000 in the first six months of this year, according to the
Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
BSS/AFP/HR/1150