On February 18, FAW-Volkswagen, Beijing Benz, Tesla three major brands released a recall plan, a total of 48132 vehicles recalled, involving the import of Audi A4 Avant, Tesla Model Y, Porsche Cayenne and other 22 models, of which the Audi brand has 18 models, becoming the brand with the largest number of recalled models, which has been the third recall of Audi in the past two months.
FAW-Volkswagen recalls some imported Audi A4 Avant, A4 Allroad, A5, A6 Avant, A6 Allroad, A7, A8L, Q7, Q8, S4, S5, S6, S6, S7, S7, S7, R4, S5, S6, S7, RS4, RS5, RS6, RS7, RSQ8 vehicles manufactured between November 27, 2019 and December 21, 2020, with a total of 7,407 vehicles in 18 models. Porsche China recalled a total of 2,574 imported 2021 Cayenne series vehicles manufactured between September 16, 2020 and October 31, 2020.
Audi and Porsche recall the same reason, is the May 28, 2021 recall of the recall incident, the vehicle after the replacement of the rear axle towarm lock nut recall repair, the rear axle suspension positioning was not re-checked and adjusted, does not rule out the possibility of deviation in the rear axle suspension positioning, resulting in premature or uneven wear of the tire, tread and ground adhesion decreased. If the tire wears to the limit, it may cause the tire to burst, which will increase the risk of vehicle collision and there is a safety hazard.
It is worth noting that this is the third recall of Audi models by FAW-Volkswagen in the past two months, and on December 24, 2021, it recalled a total of 14 imported Audi A6 Avant and A7 cars, and a total of 6455 imported Audi A1 series. The reason for the recall is that the 1.2TSI and 1.4TSI engines may have insufficient tightening torque due to manufacturing deviations in the production process, and there may be safety hazards due to software coordination problems between the engine and the transmission control unit.
On January 27, 2022, FAW-Volkswagen recalled a large-scale domestic Audi Q5L vehicle, reaching a total of 453791 vehicles, as well as 368 imported Audi SQ5 vehicles. The reason for the recall is that the vehicle gateway control module is located in a lower position under the rear seats, and if a large amount of liquid is accidentally spilled on the rear seat, it may enter the gateway control module, resulting in a short circuit inside the gateway control module, which further causes various internal errors and safety hazards.
According to statistics, FAW-Volkswagen's last three recalls involved about 470,000 Audi models, and its Chinese-made Audi Q5L is the hardest hit area, and frequent recalls have caused consumers to question the quality of Audi. In 2021, Audi China sold 701,289 vehicles, down 3.6% year-on-year, surpassed by Both total sales and growth by Mercedes-Benz BMW. In January, the Audi brand sold more than 70,000 vehicles, down 19.34% year-on-year. Audi's sales volume declined year-on-year, which is not unrelated to frequent recalls.
A few days ago, the Audi FAW new energy vehicle project was officially launched, which will be based on the PPE platform jointly developed by Audi and Porsche to produce pure electric vehicle models, the first model will be put into production in 2024, the total investment of the project is planned to be 35.8 billion yuan, and the annual output of new energy vehicles is expected to be 150,000 after the completion of the first phase.
In addition, Tesla (Shanghai) recalled domestic Model 3 (12,003) and Model Y (14,044) electric vehicles, a total of 26,047. The reason for the recall is that the vehicle's heat pump electronic expansion valve will move slightly when positioning, because the software (version 2021.44 to 2021.44.30.6) has no correction function, which may cause the valve to be partially opened in the long run, the heat pump compressor to stop working, and the heating function in the car to fail. Beijing Benz recalled 10,104 EQC electric vehicles manufactured between November 30, 2018 and December 15, 2021. The reason for the recall is that due to the manufacturing deviation of the electric drive module, the cooling system in the electric drive module of some vehicles within the scope of the recall may have insufficient sealing, resulting in coolant leakage.