South Korea To Ban Use Of Uninspected BMW Vehicles Amid Sedan Fires - Reports

The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued on Tuesday an order banning the use of all BMW vehicles that had not undergone safety inspections following dozens of BMW vehicles catching fire due to faulty engine parts, local media reported.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued on Tuesday an order banning the use of all BMW vehicles that had not undergone safety inspections following dozens of BMW vehicles catching fire due to faulty engine parts, local media reported.

Over 30 cases of BMW cars, mostly sedans, catching fire have been reported in South Korea in 2018.

According to the Yonhap news agency, the German automaker pledged that it would conduct safety checks on all cars with an exhaust gas recirculation module, supposedly the cause of most of the recent fires. However, over 27,200 models have not been checked as of Monday night, meaning that BMW failed to make its Tuesday inspection deadline.

In her address, South Korean Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee said that the ban on all BMW vehicles that had not been inspected would come into force on Wednesday. The government would inform the owners of all uninspected cars to immediately have their vehicles checked.

BMW said that it would provide the owners of the uninspected cars with rentals. The producer expects to have recalled over 106,300 vehicles in South Korea by the end of the year.

According to German media, BMW is planning to recall around 324,000 vehicles in Europe in order to fix the damaged part that caused the fires.