Chinese domestic electric cars have been plagued by quality issues, as industry giant BYD announced a recall of over 115,000 vehicles.
According to information released on October 17 by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the Chinese Communist Party on its official website, BYD has decided to recall a total of 44,535 2015 Tang series cars produced between March 28, 2015, and July 28, 2017. Additionally, they are recalling 71,248 units of some 2021-2022 Yuan Pro pure electric cars produced between February 6, 2021, and August 5, 2022.
The affected 2015 Tang series cars may have issues due to component design selection, which could lead to abnormal functioning of the drive motor controller during use. In extreme cases, circuit boards can be burnt, causing the pure electric drive mode of the vehicle to fail, posing a safety hazard.
As for the affected Yuan Pro pure electric cars, production and manufacturing issues could result in improper installation of the power battery sealing gasket, leading to decreased sealing performance. If the vehicle is submerged in water at high speeds for a long time, it may cause the power battery to be flooded, reducing insulation performance. In extreme cases, the output power of the power battery is decreased, posing a safety hazard.
The Chinese Communist Party has promoted the development of domestically produced electric cars through massive subsidies, causing intense competition domestically and dumping in the international market. However, Chinese domestic electric vehicles have been plagued by frequent incidents and safety issues.
On July 24 this year, the term “BYD out of control” trended on Weibo. A BYD ride-hailing vehicle at Chengdu Tianfu Airport parking lot kept circling and couldn’t stop. Eventually, the manufacturer was contacted for remote control parking. The driver, scared, was sent to the hospital for treatment.
In May this year, a car owner complained about their BYD vehicle breaking down halfway, saying, “Bought a Tang something (BYD new energy model), embarrassing disgrace!” and was put in a dark room for 7 days as punishment.
On June 1, local media in Malaysia reported that a 33-year-old car owner, who had previously encountered an unexpected breakdown in their electric car causing an accident, announced that they had sold their BYD Atto 3 electric SUV back to BYD in full. The related bank loan was settled by the main dealer BYD Sime Motors to resolve the issue.