BMW officials under probe for allegedly covering defects
Firefighters extinguished a fire in a BMW 520d on a highway in South Chungcheong Province, Dec. 25. Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
Police have expanded their investigation into BMW Korea, recently booking more officials of the German carmaker on suspicion of trying to conceal defects that triggered fires in its vehicles.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Sunday, an executive and three employees of BMW's Korean unit, booked for violation of the Automobile Management Act, were recently summoned and questioned about whether they belatedly recalled vehicles after some engines caught fire ― although they knew of the problem earlier.
Police also are also investigating whether BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon was involved in hiding the defects.
The police bookings came after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport fined BMW 11.2 billion won on Dec. 24 for allegedly trying to hide faulty parts and belatedly recalling its vehicles after some engines caught fire.
Investigators concluded that there were signs that the carmaker covered up the defects. BMW learned about the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) defect in October 2015 and formed a task force at the German headquarters.
“Since 2016, there have been similar engine accidents in Europe and we have conducted tests and recently found out there were defects in the EGR,” BMW claimed in July.
In August, police searched BMW Korea and EGR supplier headquarters as well as the research center and have been analyzing the materials.
“The materials obtained have extensive technological information so it takes a while to analyze,” a police official said.
BMW defects came to light after 40 BMW vehicles caught fire on the road this year.
In August, the government set up a joint investigation team and conducted tests in various conditions. It concluded there were design flaws in the EGR cooler, an exhaust gas recirculation unit that caused the fire.
The ministry notified BMW and fined the company 11.2 billion won ($10.1 million) for the cover-up and late recall. The government also ordered the carmaker to recall 172,000 additional units of 65 models citing a possible faulty intake manifold.
However, BMW claims it acted quickly after finding the defects. The first recall in Korea was last July.
“After we found the cause of the fire we recalled the vehicles without delay,” BMW claimed.
Two more BMW vehicles caught fire after the investigation results were announced last week. A sedan caught fire on Dec. 24 and another on Dec. 25.
In late October, BMW announced it would recall an additional 1.6 million vehicles worldwide over concerns a coolant leak could spark a fire.
The action covers models produced between 2010 and 2017.
The German automaker acknowledged the leakage from the EGR cooler could potentially result in the melting of the intake manifold in the engine or cause a fire.
BMW's reputation has been significantly damaged due to its late response and ongoing malfunction that caused its vehicles to catch fire.
In July, BMW sold more than 4,000 cars, before the situation got worse. But sales dropped to 2,832 vehicles in August and then 2,000 last month.