Tesla and other companies initiate a significant vehicle recall in China
Tesla and ten other automakers announced software updates on Friday and stated they would recall nearly 4.3 million vehicles due to concerns about the potential difficulty of opening doors in an emergency. This marks the largest automotive recall in China to date.
Beijing has this year heightened its scrutiny of the EV industry and implemented stricter safety regulations as automakers, engaged in intense price competition, unveil technologies in the world’s largest vehicle market.
It has also announced plans to ban concealed door handles starting in 2027, becoming the first country to eliminate a design that gained popularity through Tesla and has been widely embraced by domestic Chinese EV manufacturers.
Many of the actions categorized as product recalls according to Chinese regulations focus on issues related to the potential difficulty in locating or operating emergency mechanical door release handles during emergencies.
WARNING LABELS AND SOFTWARE FIXES
Nine of the 11 automakers, including Tesla and Xiaomi, will provide warning labels at no cost to identify the handles, while the majority will also implement over-the-air, or remote, software updates.
Tesla’s recall is unprecedented in scale. It involves 2.98 million imported and China-manufactured Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles that are set to be recalled starting September 25, as reported by the company to the State Administration for Market Regulation, according to the regulator’s statement.
The U.S. automaker stated that mechanical emergency door-release handles might be challenging to locate after a severe collision and electrical system failure, which could impede occupants’ escape or rescuers’ access, as noted in the statement.
Tesla’s solution features warning labels and a remote update that automatically lowers vehicle windows following a collision.
Apart from Tesla and Xiaomi, Leapmotor (9863.HK), Xpeng (9868.HK), and Geely Holding have also announced their largest recalls on record, as stated in their filings to SAMR.
Xiaomi will recall approximately 390,000 vehicles, Leapmotor around 371,000, and Xpeng about 264,000.
The other companies that submitted filings to the regulator are managing significantly smaller recalls.
Tesla and Xpeng have not yet responded to a request for comment, and Geely declined to provide any remarks. Xiaomi stated that it does not possess any further information beyond the regulatory notice.
Leapmotor expressed its dedication to safety. It was stated that the upgrade consisted solely of a warning label and an update to the power-window control software, emphasizing that it was being “managed and filed in accordance with the recall process out of a sense of responsibility to our users.
A design feature that enables doors to be opened with a key fob, smartphone, or a press-operated mechanism has drawn regulatory attention in China and the United States due to concerns that the handles might be difficult to reach in emergencies.
