By Kwanwoo Jun


Hyundai Motor and sibling company Kia will recall a combined 147,110 electric vehicles in the U.S. over possible defects in a charging unit that could cause a loss of power while running, the U.S. federal auto safety regulator said.

Hyundai will recall 98,878 vehicles of certain Ioniq and Genesis brands, while Kia will recall 48,232 units of its affected EV6 vehicle model, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Thursday.

The vehicles' Integrated Control Charging Unit could become damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery, which can result in a loss of drive power, it said.

Separately, the South Korean carmakers last week recalled around 170,000 electric vehicles in South Korea over the same issue.

Car owners can have their vehicles inspected to replace the charging unit, as necessary, and update its software, at no charge, according to safety regulators in the U.S. and South Korea.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-22-24 0252ET