17 Companies Including Porsche, Benz, BMW Fined 11.5 Billion KRW for Safety Standard Violations

Porsche 'Panamera Turbo SE-Hybrid'./Photo by Porsche

[Asia Economy Reporter Chawan Yong] A total of 11.5 billion KRW in fines have been imposed on 14 manufacturers and importers, including Porsche Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea, and BMW Korea, for selling vehicles that did not meet safety standards.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 2nd that it imposed fines calculated based on the sales revenue of the affected vehicles, the correction rate over six months, and the legal maximum limits according to the Automobile Management Act for 29 cases of recalls conducted from June last year to May this year due to non-compliance with safety standards.

Among the 29 cases subject to fines, five cases achieved a correction rate of over 90% within three months, resulting in a 50% reduction in fines, and one case achieved a correction rate of over 90% within six months, resulting in a 25% reduction.

First, Porsche Korea was fined 2.3 billion KRW for two cases involving 1,550 units of four models including the Panamera, where software errors in the instrument panel caused warning lights such as the tire pressure monitoring system to not display properly.

Mercedes-Benz Korea was fined 1.6 billion KRW for eight cases involving 727 units of five models including the S 580 4MATIC, where the passenger airbag did not deploy during a collision due to a control unit software error.

MAN Truck & Bus Korea was fined 1.4 billion KRW for two cases involving 1,880 units of five models including the TGM Cargo, where the flame retardancy of the interior materials (driver's seat) did not meet safety standards.

BMW Korea was fined 1 billion KRW for two cases involving 6,814 units of eight models including the BMW X6 xDrive40i, where the lighting installed on the front grille did not meet luminance standards. Tesla Korea was also fined 1 billion KRW for two cases involving 1,518 units of the Model S, where the hood did not lock properly due to faulty latch installation.

Kia Motors was fined 1 billion KRW for 15,270 units of the Niro electric vehicle, where the rear bumper retreat light did not function properly upon impact at the bumper corner (2.5 km/h). Korea Motor Trading was fined 1 billion KRW for 31,116 units of four two-wheeled models including the Yamaha GPD125A, where auxiliary reflectors did not meet reflection performance standards.

Jaguar Land Rover Korea was fined 500 million KRW for 1,324 units of 24 models including the Range Rover SDV8, where the high beam automatic switching indicator did not operate. Honda Korea was fined 200 million KRW for 6,692 units of nine two-wheeled models including the NBC110, where rear reflectors did not meet reflection performance standards.

Additionally, fines were imposed as follows: Daimler Truck Korea 200 million KRW, Beomhan Motors 100 million KRW, Volkswagen Group Korea 80 million KRW, GM Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters 54 million KRW, Jinil Engineering 10 million KRW, Ford Sales Service Korea 9 million KRW, and Stellantis Korea 6 million KRW.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it will continuously investigate whether vehicles sold meet safety standards to ensure vehicle performance and safety, and will strictly enforce penalties according to the law if violations of safety standards are confirmed.

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