Seoul, Jan 23 (IANS): Hyundai Motor, Kia and two other carmakers will voluntarily recall over 340,000 vehicles due to faulty components, the transport ministry said on Thursday.

The four companies, including Mercedes-Benz Korea and Tesla Korea, are recalling a combined 343,250 units of 11 different models, the ministry said.

Hyundai Motor will recall 141,125 units of two models, including the Porter II Electric, due to a design error in the battery sensor. Additionally, 19,830 units of the Nexo will be recalled for a defect in the emergency light switch, reports Yonhap news agency.

Kia's Sorento Hybrid and one other model, involving 89,598 units, will undergo corrective measures due to a software error.

Mercedes-Benz Korea is currently recalling 4,068 units of two different models, including the S580 4MATIC, over an issue with the engine control unit software. Tesla Korea is also addressing 2,425 units of the Model Y and another model over a software error.

The number of vehicles voluntarily recalled by automakers in South Korea reached an all-time high last year, with nearly 80 percent attributed to domestic giant Hyundai Motor Group.

A total of 5.12 million units across 1,684 different models were subject to recalls due to defects, according to the Korea Road Traffic Authority. Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. accounted for a combined 4.07 million units, representing 79.2 percent of the total.

The figure surpasses last year's 1.69 million recalled units and also breaks the previous record of 3.25 million units set in 2022.

The recalls were largely driven by manufacturing defects found in several popular models of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. under Hyundai Motor Group.

"Since many of the recalls involved popular models, the overall volume naturally increased," said an official from the agency.

Electric vehicles also saw a significant rise this year, with more than 1.2 million units recalled, surpassing 707,088 units in 2021 and 187,560 in 2020.