Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO might appear at government audit, industry reports

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Mathias Vaitl talks with press after meeting with a group of residents whose cars were destroyed by a massive fire caused by a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle at an apartment underground parking lot in the district of Cheongna in Incheon on Aug. 14. (Yonhap)

In the aftermath of the massive fire caused by a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle in August, Mathias Vaitl, CEO of the German auto giant’s Korean unit, might appear for next month's government audit, industry insiders said Friday.

Given the severity of the incident that took out an apartment complex parking lot and over 100 vehicles in Incheon on Sept. 1, the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly is reportedly considering calling Mathias as a key witness for the audit.

“When BMW cars were involved in a series of engine fires here in 2018, the then-CEO Kim Hyo-joon apologized and testified in front of the transport committee on the cause of the fire,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. “This is likely the case for the Mercedes-Benz CEO as well.”

A Mercedes-Benz Korea official declined to comment on whether the company was preparing for the audit, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

One of the key issues would be whether the German carmaker intentionally hid the details of the battery installed in the EQE 350+ sedan model -- the car involved in the fire.

It was first reported that the sedan was powered by batteries from CATL, the largest global battery maker based in China. But the company later announced that the battery supplier of the EQE model was China’s Farasis Energy, the world’s 10th-largest battery manufacturer.

An EQE 350 sedan that was parked at a home garage in Florida, US, caught fire last year. In 2021, China’s BAIC Motor issued a recall on over 30,000 EVs equipped with batteries produced by Farasis Energy, due to a possible fire.

Some 300 EQE owners so far are preparing for a class action lawsuit against the carmaker for falsely notifying the battery supplier and have filed for a dispute settlement process with the Korea Consumer Agency.

The backlash from the owners could put pressure on Mercedes-Benz Korea, which has long kept the top spot in the luxury car market here. Last year, the Korean unit sold 76,697 cars, posting 7.9 trillion won ($6 billion) in sales revenue and 239.3 billion won in operating profit, respectively.

By Byun Hye-jin(hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)