China's car recalls up 16.37% in H1

A total of 67 automobile recalls, affecting 3.2 million cars, had been made in China by June 30 this year, increasing 16.37 percent from the previous year, and Mercedes-Benz made 11 recalls involving nearly 800,000 cars, taking the first spot among all auto manufacturers, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation, China News Service reported.

In the first half of this year, German auto brands had recalled 1.38 million cars, accounting for 43.1 percent of the total recall amount. At the end of June, as China's State Administration for Market Regulation conducted a defect investigation over the auto industry, Mercedes-Benz launched its biggest recall so far this year, with nearly 670,000 defective cars recalled.

Volkswagen also made nine recalls from January to June, representing a total of 471,438 cars.

Auto manufacturers from Japan stood in second place, with 1.37 million units recalled in H1, which accounted for 42.7 percent of the total. On May 29, Honda recalled over 770,000 cars for fuel pump problems.

According to the national automobile consumption and product recall report released by the State Administration for Market Regulation in 2019, airbags, seat belts and car engines are still the main defective parts of vehicles. About 2.15 million cars were recalled for airbag and safety belt problems, while engine defects led to auto recalls of over 1.98 million vehicles.

Cui Dongshu, the secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), said that compared with traditional vehicles, new energy cars faced more recalls this year, especially in terms of power battery defects.

As the ambient temperature rises with the arrival of summer, the spontaneous combustion of cars becomes a danger to the safety of drivers and passengers. On June 15, Chongqing Lifan Passenger Vehicle Co Ltd made recalls of 3,651 Lifan 650EV300 cars, over the risk of the cars catching fire because of power battery defects.

Wang Yan, the deputy director of the Defective Product Administrative Center in State Administration for Market Regulation, said automotive quality problems are inevitable in China – the world's biggest auto market. He noted the recall system not only helped to minimize the risks caused by defective products to consumers, but also forced manufacturers to improve product quality.

Cui Dongshu also highlighted that the Chinese auto industry saw an increasing number of car recalls by manufacturers, which showed auto brands further strengthened the quality control in recent years, China News Service reported.