From June 2023, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold EQE and EQS sedans through an internal 'EQ Sales Playbook' that presented the cars as carrying CATL cells — the world's number one — while some, including the EQE 350+, in fact carried Farasis batteries that had already been recalled abroad for fire risk.
When an EQE burned in an Incheon apartment garage in 2024, evacuating residents and torching neighboring cars, the substitution became public. On March 10, 2026, the Fair Trade Commission fined Mercedes-Benz Korea ₩11.239 billion — the 4% statutory cap on ₩281B of related sales — and referred both the Korean firm and the German group to prosecutors. Mercedes disputes the ruling and filed suit.
Related sales of ₩281B became the base of the fine; the fire made the brochure evidence.
Fined ₩11.239B (4% of ₩281B sales) and prosecuted after an Incheon EQE fire revealed Farasis batteries.
The EQ Sales Playbook advertised CATL cells while fire-recalled Farasis batteries were fitted — deceptive sales from Jun 2023 through 2024
The 2024 Incheon garage fire of an EQE exposed it — residents evacuated, neighboring cars burned; FTC fine ₩11.239B on Mar 10, 2026, both firms prosecuted
₩281B of related sales set the fine at the 4% cap — the sales record became the penalty record
The battery is the car's truth. A playbook that swaps the truth for a better brand name lasts until the first fire; after it, the fine is the price of the adjective.
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