In 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a total of 159 automotive-related recall announcements (including engineering vehicle and tire recalls), an increase of 14 compared with 2020. Among them, a total of more than 260 models involving 63 car companies were recalled, with a total of 8,733,823 vehicles recalled, an increase of 29.6% over last year. After experiencing the "three consecutive drops" in the total number of annual car recalls, domestic car recalls in 2021 ushered in a rebound, and both the number of recalls and the total number of recalls have been greatly improved.
With the gradual weakening of the impact of the domestic new crown epidemic and the gradual recovery of the economy, the total number of domestic car recalls has also changed the relative downturn in the previous two years and returned to a higher level. Although there is a big gap compared with the period affected by the Takata airbag incident in 2016-2018, the overall situation is still in a steady growth trend.
In the 2021 domestic automobile recall activities, the number of recalls of German brands was 59, becoming the national brand with the largest number of recalls. In addition to design defects, manufacturing process and other issues are still relatively concentrated, the proportion of electronic and electrical problems has increased significantly, involving communication module software and battery control units, which are directly related to vehicle safety. In addition, in response to user manuals that are not much concerned by other national brands, Ashkenazi brands have also carried out large-scale recalls to ensure the normal use of vehicles by revising relevant instructions.
According to the data released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, there are 3 recalls of more than 500,000 vehicles in a single period in 2021, of which the top problem is "communication module software problem", which triggered Mercedes-Benz to implement a wide range of recalls in China. In addition, SAIC-GM-Wuling's "insufficient wear resistance of the engine crankcase forced ventilation valve spool" and Toyota's "quality defects in the internal components of the engine exhaust gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)" also triggered a large-scale recall. In 2021, there was only one recall of more than 400,000 vehicles, mainly due to the "short circuit fire inside the hydraulic electronic control unit", involving the new and old Tucson models of Beijing Hyundai.
Key features of the 2021 domestic recall
1. Ashkenazi brands pay more attention to service and details The number of recalls and the total number of recalls of independent brands have made breakthroughs
From the perspective of each country, in 2021, the German brand still has a clear advantage in the number of recalls, with a total of 59 recalls and 3,766,481 recalls, accounting for 43.1% of the total recalls in the whole year. Among them, there were a total of three recalls caused by communication module software design problems, and the number of recalls reached 2,604,581 vehicles, accounting for nearly 70% of the total recalls of German brands, reflecting that German brands pay more attention to user experience and related service issues while continuously improving their manufacturing processes. In addition, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also launched the revision of the user manual and the repair of the MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system, which have also included the car problems that were not of much attention in the past into the scope of the recall, and continuously optimized and improved the details of the problem.
In 2021, independent brands have made great breakthroughs in the number of recalls and the total number of recalls, with a total of 33 recall announcements issued throughout the year, and the total number of recalls reached 2,046,636 vehicles, which is much higher than the same period in the calendar year. From the perspective of the number of single recalls, SAIC-GM-Wuling's recall for "insufficient wear resistance of the engine crankcase forced ventilation valve spool" covers almost all of its models, and the total recall exceeds 500,000 vehicles, becoming the largest recall in the history of its own brand. From the perspective of specific recall problems, the proportion of engines, gearboxes and power batteries has also increased significantly compared with the past, reflecting that the quality requirements of independent brands for core components are gradually improving, and they can find and solve problems in time.
2, the "driver assistance function" problem is becoming more and more concentrated Tesla, Toyota recall initiative performance is better
With the continuous advancement of autonomous driving technology, the popularity of vehicle driving assistance functions is gradually increasing, and the problems caused by failures are becoming more and more concentrated. According to the data of the vehicle quality network, the sum of the complaints of the two major problems of "fixed speed cruise fault" and "driving safety auxiliary system failure" in 2021 exceeded 1,000 cases, and the number of complaints increased significantly compared with 2020. At the same time, some car companies are also actively promoting the recall of problems related to driving assistance functions. In 2021, Tesla and Toyota respectively implemented a recall of the "active cruise control system" of their main sales models, eliminating safety hazards by improving software procedures.
In contrast, the performance of independent brands and Ashkenazi brands is not satisfactory, and they have not paid great attention to the various driving assistance function problems reflected by users, which has led to a large number of complaints. Because the driver assistance function involves both vehicle hardware and software systems, and is closely linked to the on-board MCU chip, the United States and Japan, which have obvious advantages in chip technology, naturally have a greater ease to deal with related issues, which may also be the key reason for the lag in recalls of other national brands.
3. The number and total number of recalls of new energy vehicles have been greatly improved The OTA recall mechanism has been further improved
With the increasing sales volume of the domestic new energy vehicle market year by year, the quality problems of new energy vehicles have become increasingly prominent. In 2021, the domestic auto market launched a total of 35 batches of new energy vehicle recalls, with a total recall of 927,785 vehicles, an increase of 13 batches compared with the number of recalls in 2020, and the total number of recalls increased by 858.1%. Among them, Tesla, as the representative of new energy vehicles, recalled as many as 543,811 vehicles in 6 batches throughout the year, far exceeding the sales data of the same period and accounting for more than 50% of the total recalls of new energy vehicles.
Looking at the reasons for the recall of new energy vehicles, "power battery overheating and fire" and "electronic control system failure" still account for a large proportion, becoming the primary safety hazard of new energy vehicles. In addition, the proportion of recalls caused by the "disappearance of power" problem has also increased significantly, with a total of 8 recalls throughout the year, involving a number of automobile brands, covering core components such as drive motors, electronic control systems and power batteries.
It is worth noting that at present, many car companies are inclined to solve the electronic control problem through OTA remote upgrade technology, and since this year, Tesla and Mercedes-Benz have recalled a large number of models through OTA upgrades. With the relevant notices issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation twice in 2020 and 2021, it is clear that manufacturers who "use OTA to carry out technical service activities for sold vehicles shall file with the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulations in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products and the Implementation Measures for the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products". "The release of this policy has played a role in curbing some car companies' attempts to cover up product defects through OTA upgrades, standardizing corporate OTA upgrade activities and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers from infringement."
The rapid development of electrification technology is bound to bring additional quality problems, and car companies need to establish a sound recall mechanism while improving their own technical level, and timely discover and repair product defects. Judging from the recall of new energy vehicles in recent years, domestic mainstream automobile manufacturers and new car-making brands can basically do the recall, but there is obviously room for improvement in actively discovering product defects and actively taking reasonable recall measures.
In order to facilitate consumers to have a clearer understanding of the domestic automobile recall in 2021, the car quality network will sort out the announcement of the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration, sort by the number of recalls from largest to smallest, and finally obtain the following ranking: