The Casper electric vehicle is gaining popularity at home and abroad, but frequent minor defects are fueling consumer complaints. Because most units are exported, buyers in Korea have to wait more than a year to get their cars, and this year alone there have been more than five notices for free repairs.
According to the industry on the 14th, Hyundai Motor issued three free-repair notices for the Casper electric vehicle from early this month through the 10th. The affected vehicles number about 36,000, including integrated charging control unit (ICCU) failures (13,587 units), defective cooling-circuit parts (12,004), and issues related to the integrated electric brake (IEB) (10,832).
In Apr., communication failures in the battery management system (BMS) occurred along with ICCU malfunctions. In May, radiator parts were replaced twice due to issues such as malfunctioning climate control, vapor generation, and the appearance of electric-vehicle system check warnings.
Frequent repairs are heightening consumer frustration. On the official Casper EV club, posts said, "It has been less than half a year since delivery, but I keep getting repair notices," "It feels like I've become a tester," and "I think I visit the service center more often than I used to go for internal combustion engine oil changes."
In Korea, the Casper electric vehicle has such a large backlog that buyers wait more than a year for delivery, and as long as nearly two years depending on the trim. The Casper EV, produced under contract at Gwangju Global Motors (GGM), is exported in about 90% of total volume. Sales are particularly strong in Europe and Japan.
Even after the long wait, frequent breakdowns and repairs, along with a pileup of free-repair cases, can lengthen maintenance times. The Hi-Tech Center, a company-run service center, is hard to book, and partner shops under Bluehands report complaints that parts supplies are not smooth.
The free repairs Hyundai Motor has announced for the Casper electric vehicle differ from recalls. A recall is a system in which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport notifies the company to repair or replace vehicles with "defects that affect safety." By contrast, free repairs are carried out when "faults that do not affect safety" are found.