South Korea to ban 20,000 BMWs from roads after engine fires
Images of BMW vehicles bursting into flames have made headlines in South Korea recently
South Korea will ban driving recalled BMWs that haven’t received safety checks following dozens of fires the German carmaker has blamed on a faulty exhaust gas component.
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday the ban taking effect Wednesday affects about 20,000 vehicles.
Drivers cannot use the cars except for taking them to safety checks. While violating the ban is punishable by up to a year in prison, the ministry said the focus will be on persuading drivers to take their vehicles for safety checks as soon as possible. However, the government will “aggressively” pursue charges against drivers if their vehicles catch fire after they had continuously defied the ban, ministry official Kim Gyeong-wook said.
Junghyun Kim, an official from BMW’s South Korean unit, said the company has currently secured more than 14,000 cars it will lend to affected drivers for free until their BMWs are cleared to drive again.
“We will do our best with the safety checks to reduce the number of drivers affected by the ban,” she said.
