SEOUL, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors said they are recalling about 660,000 vehicles in South Korea to fix a faulty brake switch, with further recalls in other countries possible.
The recall, which involves models such as Hyundai's Genesis and Azera large-size sedans and Kia's Forte compact, extends a problem that has already affected over two million cars and is the largest in South Korea since the current recall system was introduced here in 2003, the transport ministry said.
In April, Hyundai and Kia, which together rank fifth in global auto sales, recalled more than 1.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the same issue, triggering a series of smaller recalls in other markets such as Korea and China.
"We plan to carry out additional recalls in other countries in accordance with their regulations and systems," Hyundai said in a statement, adding the total size is yet to be finalised.
A Kia spokesman said the automaker is considering recalls in other countries regarding brake switch problems, without elaborating.
The latest recall, which comes after recalls of over 160,000 vehicles in April in South Korea, is a blow to the reputation of Hyundai and Kia on their home turf, where the dominant players are struggling to fend off challenges from imported rivals.
In today's move, the pair are recalling a total of 662,519 models produced between 2007 and 2011 to replace potentially malfunctioning brake switches that could fail to activate stop lamps, or fail to deactivate cruise control when the brake pedal was depressed, among other problems, the ministry said. A total of 15 Hyundai and Kia models are affected.
Hyundai Motor shares ended down 0.5 percent and Kia shares fell 2.1 percent in the wider market that went down 0.5 percent on Wednesday. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)