BERLIN, April 1 (Reuters) - A fire risk has forced a recall action affecting up to around 700,000 Stellantis cars worldwide, including models from the group's brands Peugeot, Citreon, Fiat and Jeep, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

* Notices issued by Germany's KBA regulator on Tuesday saidmodels produced between mid-2023 and early-2026 should bechecked for a possible defect that can cause water to enter theengine compartment, potentially leading to a fire * The recall covers most of Stellantis's brands, with AlfaRomeo and Lancia also affected * Stellantis said in a statement that customer safety was"at the core of its values" and said a free service to resolvethe issue would take around 30 minutes

(Reporting by Rachel More and Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Matthias Williams)