Review of the top ten domestic automobile recalls in 2021| 3.15 channel

Every year on March 15, the automotive industry is a highly concerned object, which also urges major car companies to improve their product quality, improve service levels, and avoid becoming regular customers on the "315 party", so "car recall" has become the normal production and operation of car companies.

Taking advantage of the recent high heat of 3.15, today, let's review what are the phenomena worth paying attention to in the 2021 China car recall.

Total number of car recalls nationwide: 8.73 million

On the eve of March 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Notice on the Recall of Automobiles and Consumer Goods nationwide in 2021", showing that in 2021, the mainland implemented a total of 232 car recalls, involving 8.736 million vehicles, an increase of 16.6% and 28.8% respectively over the previous year.

By the end of 2021, Mainland China had implemented a total of 2,423 car recalls, involving 91.3 million vehicles.

This is also the first time that domestic car recalls have rebounded after experiencing the "three consecutive declines" in the total number of annual car recalls; both the number of recalls and the total number of recalls have increased significantly compared with 2020.

It can be seen that with the certain results of epidemic prevention and control, the economy has gradually recovered, and the total number of domestic automobile recalls no longer continues the downturn of the previous two years, and has begun to steadily recover to a higher normal level.

The most recalled car series: the German car

In the 2021 domestic car recall activities, the number of recalls of German brands was 59 times, which was the country brand with the largest number of car recalls; the recall involved 3.77 million vehicles, which was the largest number of recalls.

Among them, a total of three recalls were triggered due to communication module software design problems, and the number of recalls reached 2.6 million vehicles, accounting for nearly 70% of the total recalls of German brands. In addition, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have carried out large-scale recalls of user manuals that are not much concerned by other national brands, and revised the relevant instructions to ensure the normal use of vehicles.

It was followed by its own brands and Japanese brands, with the number of recalled cars reaching 2,046,600 units and 1,532,800 units in 2021, respectively; the number of recalled cars by American and Korean brands was roughly equal, at 627,600 units and 613,300 units, respectively; and the number of recalls of European brands in 2021 was the lowest, at 147,000 units.

The brand with the most recalled cars: Mercedes-Benz

In 2021, Mercedes-Benz once again won the first place in the domestic passenger car recall manufacturer (for three consecutive years), with a total of 2.7 million recalled models, accounting for 70% of the total number of recalled cars by the entire German brand in China, 1.2 million more than the second place Wuling, and is a veritable "king of recall".

Among them, the top recall is the "communication module software problem", that is, the large-scale recall launched by the Mercedes-Benz brand on April 12, 2021, involving more than 2.6 million imported and domestic Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz officials will activate the communication module software for vehicles within the scope of the recall free of charge through authorized service centers in China, thereby eliminating safety hazards.

Recall the largest Chinese brand: Wuling

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 2.04 million vehicles, far 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 increasing, and they can find and solve problems in a timely manner.

The most tossed recall: BMW

Since February 18, 2021, BMW has recalled a total of 71 imported 425i and 430i vehicles, and the reason for the recall is that the software parameters of the front seat side airbags have been adjusted incorrectly, and there are safety hazards. BMW programs the software for vehicles covered by the recall free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.

However, less than 3 months later, the same 71 vehicles were recalled, and the vehicles within the scope of this recall were delayed due to the software parameter tuning of the airbags on the side of the front seats and the defects in the shape of the airbags, resulting in delays in the deployment of the airbags, and the protection range of the airbags after the deployment was limited, which would increase the risk of injury to the occupants in the collision accident, and there was a safety hazard.

In short, since the original recall measures (software programming) could not solve the problem of limited protection range of front seat airbags, bmw will change the recall maintenance measures to replace the side airbags of the two front seats free of charge and software programming to eliminate safety hazards.

The most proactive recall: Toyota

In recent years, with the continuous advancement of autonomous driving technology, the popularity of vehicle driving assistance functions is gradually increasing, and the problems caused by failures have become more and more concentrated.

It is reported that in 2021, the number of complaints about "fixed speed cruise fault" and "driving safety assistance system failure" has exceeded 1,000 cases, a substantial increase over 2020. As a result, some car companies have begun to actively promote the recall of problems related to driving assistance functions.

In 2021, Toyota implemented a recall of the "active cruise control system" of more than 220,000 of its main sales models, eliminating safety hazards by improving software procedures.

This is worth learning from other car companies, especially Chinese brands with faster intelligent process, and should attach great importance to the various driving assistance function problems reflected by users, and recall and improve them in time.

The brand with the fewest recalls: Alfa Romeo

From January 18, 2021, Alfa Romeo recalled the imported 2020 Juliet Four Leaf Clover editions produced between March 4 and July 31, 2020, for a total of four vehicles.

This is the brand with the smallest total recall of all recall records in China, and the total number of other brands recalled is at least 100 vehicles.

It is understood that the vehicles within the scope of this recall may have micro-cracks due to problems in the production process of the supplier, resulting in the carbon-ceramic brake discs on the rear wheels. Cracks will cause noise during braking, brake disc surface material will be damaged by cracks and reduce the braking effect, and in extreme cases, it may cause rear wheel brake failure, which is a safety hazard.

The biggest cause of the recall: a powertrain safety hazard

From the perspective of the entire automobile market, car complaints in 2021 are still dominated by the proportion of "large pieces" of automobiles such as engines and transmission trains. Specifically, it involves engine assemblies (32.3%), drive train (17.6%), body (17.6%), and electrical equipment (15.3%).

From the perspective of the assembly involved in the defect, the engine and electronic appliances are the main defect-generating components, accounting for 84.3% of the total recall. Among them, 50 recalls were carried out due to defects in the engine assembly, involving 3.713 million vehicles, accounting for 42.5% of the total recalls.

In 2021, the recall of new energy vehicles will be greatly improved

The number and number of recalls and the number of new energy vehicles have increased relatively largely. According to the data, in 2021, 59 new energy vehicle recalls were implemented in China, involving 830,000 vehicles, an increase of 31.1% and 75.9% respectively.

Sales of new energy vehicles in 2021 were 3.52 million units, and the number of recalled models accounted for 24% of the total sales of new energy vehicles in that year. Although the new energy vehicles recalled in 2021 are not only produced and sold in that year, this also shows that the number of new energy vehicle recalls has increased, which is not a small number.

It is not difficult to find that with the rapid growth of new energy vehicle ownership, many problems about products have also begun to appear. Specifically, the "three electricity" system is a high incidence area, reflecting that the problems of power batteries, motors, and electronic control systems account for 52.5% of the defect clues of new energy vehicles.

The 2021 OTA recall mechanism has been further improved

At present, many car companies are inclined to solve the electronic electronic control problem through OTA remote upgrade technology, 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.

Text | Huluwa

(This article is the author's personal opinion only and does not represent the position of DearAuto.) )

———— END ————

law

law

look at

ask

Mr. Li Guoyong of Guangdong Green Law Firm