Common Denominator? Chariots On Fire -- August 23, 2021

Re-posting. The grammar is a bit awkward because I was unsure exactly what the writer of the linked article was saying. I'll leave it as is, and let folks fact-check it if they want.

Chariots on fire. How did I miss this one? We all heard the news on the $1 billion Chevy Bolt recall, but it turns out Hyundai recently announced a hefty recall, one of the most, if not the most, expensive in the industry in history, link here, April 15, 2021.

As of March 2021, Hyundai Motors had already made 82,000 recalls of its sold vehicles. Even though it is a minor figure in the auto industry in terms of numbers, the per-vehicle cost basis makes the recall to be one of the most expensive in the industry.

Its rival, GM, had recalled seven million vehicles because of faulty airbags by its 2020 fourth quarter. But the value of the recalls cannot compare with the value that Hyundai will incur despite the high number of recalled vehicles.

The expensive fault that Hyundai experienced affected some of its electric cars. The company received 15 reports on battery fires. Even though no injuries or fatalities occurred because the fires happened when the vehicles were shut and empty, the company has to replace the entire battery system at a total cost of $900 million.

The said overall cost translates to $11,000 per car. The price stands as “astronomically high,” according to CNN business news. When compared with the $157 that GM spent on each recalled car, Hyundai will incur hefty costs.

Hyundai stated that it would approach LG to negotiate about sharing the costs because the fault was out of a misaligned cell of a battery. However, LG seems hesitant to agree to the collaboration.

So, now we know:

• for low-MPEG, it's costing in excess of $11,000 for a battery pack for these cheap cars
• what does that say about high-end EVs? Asking for a friend.