By Park Jin-hai
GM Korea topped the recall list in the first half of this year, making up almost half of the number of all vehicles recalled, according to Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TSA) data, Wednesday.
The local unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors recalled 217,884 vehicles during the first half, followed by Hyundai with 56,311, and Kia with 53,721.
The data showed the number of cars subject to safety-related recalls in Korea jumped 25.7 percent to 425, 212 from the same period last year.
They included 335,040 domestically produced cars and 90,172 imported vehicles.
Car models involved in the recalls also increased from 168 to 222.
GM recalled 99,985 Cruzes, Lacetti Premieres and the Orlandos due to leaks in their hydraulics. Over 78,000 Malibus and Alpheons were also recalled for defects in safety belts.
“After the ignition switch recall case in U.S., we are taking a policy to voluntarily recall our vehicles if any fault is spotted,” said a GM Korea official.
Hyundai recalled 56,311 Avantes, Grandeur hybrids, Genesis and i30d.
Of foreign carmakers, Mercedes-Benz ranked first by recalling 34,756, followed by BMW with 10,238, the data showed.
Ford was the third largest with 5,594 cars, followed by Chrysler with 3,867 vehicles and Nissan, 3,827.
“Since middle of last year, the number of recalls has substantially increased. The number of cars to be recalled this year is estimated to reach 1 million,” TSA official said.