Watchdog making good on vow to go after faulty cars: experts

A technician at a 4s dealership in Pingdingshan, Henan province, works on a car. HE JINWEN/CHINA DAILY

China's quality watchdog is showing more initiative in recalling vehicles after a record number of defective cars were reported in the country last year.

Twenty-eight automakers recalled 1.86 million cars through the first quarter of 2016, of which 1 million cars were recalled after the top quality watchdog's investigations, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a report on its website on April 28.

The report said more than 260,000 recalled cars were imported, involving both volume brands like Volkswagen, Hyundai, Toyota and GM and premium marques including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Maserati.

The administration said the media has helped in prompting carmakers to recall faulty cars. Noticing reports that Volkswagen and Porsche recalled cars overseas, the administration contacted the two carmakers and discovered that a number of their SUVs sold in China had problematic brake systems.

The watchdog said it immediately issued the notice to alert the public and talked to management from the two carmakers, urging them to recall cars affected.

The move resulted in their recalls on April 18 of 103,569 Touaregs and 108,910 Cayennes made between 2010 and this year and possible replacement of a circlip that could come loose and prevent the car from braking properly or cause the pedal bearing to break.

Automakers recalled 5.54 million cars in 2015, though a great proportion of them were the result of faulty Takata airbags, hitting a record high since the recall system was introduced in 2004 in the country.

In late 2015, the general administration vowed to further tighten its supervision and released a detailed regulation on car recalls that took effect from Jan 1.

The 43-article regulation covers six aspects ranging from information management and investigation to recalls and penalties.

Zhang Zhiyong, an independent auto analyst in Beijing, said the regulation is a positive sign but added that it should have included more punitive measures. A fine up to merely 30,000 yuan ($4,617) is not an effective deterrent to carmakers, he said.

John Zeng, managing director at consultancy LMC Automotive Shanghai, said it is good that the watchdog is making it easier for people to file complaints about problems with their vehicles. Investigations are conducted once a number of people complain about the same problem.

He said it would be more efficient if there was a separate agency dedicated to car quality supervision, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States, because China's quality watchdog has to supervise many industries.

In addition to official supervision, he said Chinese customers' growing awareness of quality is helping the watchdog to solicit more information and prompt carmakers and dealers to recall faulty cars.

Young customers know more about cars and they are more demanding and willing to defend their rights than their parents, said Zeng.