LG Chem "Cause of Kona Fire Not Identified... Cannot Attribute to Battery Defect"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] On the 8th, LG Chem refuted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's mention of battery cell manufacturing defects as the cause of the Hyundai Motor Kona electric vehicle fire incident, stating, "The exact cause has not been identified, and it cannot be said to be a battery defect."

In response to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's announcement and the ensuing responsibility debate regarding the electric vehicle fire, LG Chem issued a statement in the afternoon, saying, "The Ministry made the announcement without identifying the exact cause of the fire."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the same day, citing the investigation results from the Automobile Safety Research Institute, that there is a possibility that the fire occurred due to battery cell manufacturing defects in the Kona electric vehicle.

LG Chem stated that in a reproduction experiment conducted jointly with Hyundai Motor, no fire occurred, adding, "It cannot be said that the cause is battery cell defects due to separator damage," and "We will actively participate with Hyundai Motor in future investigations to identify the cause."

Since the Kona electric vehicle includes various devices and systems such as LG Chem's battery cells, Hyundai Motor's battery management system, and Hyundai Mobis's cooling system, there are also opinions that it is difficult to simply view the fire cause as a battery problem. As LG Chem, which supplied the battery to the Kona electric vehicle where the fire occurred, denies the possibility of manufacturing defects, a controversy over responsibility is expected to continue.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.