Hyundai will recall 82,000 electric cars to replace their batteries after 15 reports of fires . Despite the relatively small number of cars affected, Hyundai's electric vehicle recall is one of the most expensive in history, showing that potential defects in electric cars can ultimately cost automakers dearly.
In reality, Hyundai will need to spend 1 trillion Korean won, or $900 million, on this process. That means the average cost for each vehicle will be $11,000.
The company is being asked to replace the entire battery, which is an extreme measure that requires about the same amount of work and about the same cost as replacing the entire engine of a traditional internal combustion car. Very few recalls of gasoline-powered cars require replacing the entire engine. One such case was the recall of 785 Porsche 911 GT3 sports cars in 2014. Porsche did not disclose the cost of this entire process, but it was certainly very high.
However, a recall that costs more than $11,000 per vehicle is extremely rare. Exact figures are not available because most automakers do not disclose the cost of their recalls.
Of course, there are far more gasoline-powered vehicles than electric vehicles, so the total cost of these recalls could easily exceed the $900 million this recall cost Hyundai. But the number of vehicles being recalled also plays a role. The average cost of a vehicle recall over the past 10 years has been about $500 per vehicle, according to Mike Held, a principal at AlixPartners.
The cost of the Hyundai recall is another indication of batteries are vehicle relative to the cost of the entire car. Until battery costs come down, the cost of building electric vehicles will remain higher than that of gasoline-powered vehicles.
In a few years, batteries will be cheaper and thus the overall cost of manufacturing electric vehicles will decrease.
However, a problem like the one Hyundai is currently facing, with the fires, can be very costly for an automaker, since it requires replacing the entire battery.
No one was injured in any of the Hyundai car fires, as many of them occurred when the vehicles were stationary and no one was inside. No incidents have been reported in the United States.
Hyundai investigated the issue and said it was a short circuit.
The recall also includes the Ioniq EV and Elec City vehicles in South Korea. In total, 27,000 Korean vehicles and 55,000 elsewhere around the world are being recalled.
Similar incidents of battery fires in electric vehicles have occurred at other companies. GM is also recalling an earlier version of the Chevrolet Bolt electric car for the same reason.
Source: CNN International
