An engineer inspects a car's engine room (Meyle Korea)
An engineer inspects a car's engine room (Meyle Korea)

Meyle, a German premium automotive parts maker, is ramping up efforts to expand its supply of electric vehicle parts to prepare for a surge in EV repairs in Korea.

According to Meyle on Friday, the company announced a plan to expand its product portfolio to produce more than 4,000 components for electric and hybrid vehicles to meet growing global demand.

Meyle's Korean office said it is focusing on strengthening industry-academic partnerships to train future technicians, and enhancing the capabilities of its certified Meyle auto service centers across Korea to better support EV and hybrid owners of imported vehicles.

Innofact, in partnership with Meyle, surveyed 274 independent workshops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where EV adoption is growing quickly. Results showed that more than 80 million EVs will be on the road in Europe by 2035. Of them, 21 million EVs will be over 8 years old, many of them out of warranty and in need of independent service options.

Despite such growth, the study indicated that most workshops are not yet equipped to handle EV repairs. Currently, only 1 in 5 workshops is fully capable of servicing high-voltage systems.

Meyle pointed out that Korea is following a similar path. The country is expected to see the number of registered EVs surpass 1 million this year, with the government aiming to have 4.2 million EVs on the road by 2030.

The German auto parts supplier noted that as warranties expire, more owners of EVs will have to turn to independent service centers while the infrastructure and technical expertise for EV repair remain limited.

"This study shows that in the era of e-mobility, workshops will need more than just parts and they will need complete solutions," said a Meyle official.

"Meyle will continue to offer specialized EV and hybrid parts for Korean customers and strengthen support for EV repair through Meyle auto service centers."


hwkan@heraldcorp.com