Tesla again "urgently" recalled the Model 3.
Recently, Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. filed a recall plan with 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.
It is reported that the recall was carried out under the circumstance that the State Administration for Market Regulation launched a defect investigation. Affected by the investigation, Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. decided to take recall measures to eliminate potential safety hazards.
According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, since April 7, 2022, the above-mentioned companies have recalled some imported and domestically produced Model 3 electric vehicles with production dates from January 11, 2019 to January 25, 2022, with a total of 127785 vehicles (including 34,207 imported Model 3 vehicles and 93,578 domestic Model 3 vehicles).
There may be minor manufacturing differences in the rear motor inverter power semiconductor components of vehicles within the scope of this recall, and the component manufacturing differences after some vehicles have been used for a period of time may cause the rear inverter to fail, resulting in the inverter not being able to control the current normally. This failure occurs when the vehicle is in a parked state, which will cause the vehicle to fail to start; this failure occurs when the vehicle is in a driving state, which will cause the vehicle to lose driving power, and in extreme cases, it may increase the risk of collision of the vehicle, and there is a safety hazard.
The announcement also said that Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will upgrade the motor control software for the vehicles within the scope of the recall through the vehicle remote upgrade (OTA) technology; for vehicles that cannot be recalled through the car remote upgrade (OTA) technology, they will contact relevant users through the service center to upgrade the motor control software for the vehicle to closely monitor the rear motor inverter of the vehicle, and timely replace the rear inverter with related failures free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.
It is worth mentioning that some media have questioned Tesla's recall as a passive recall. In this regard, Tesla replied to the time finance: "The details are subject to the announcement. ”
As of the close of trading on April 14, EST, Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) share price was $985.00 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.02 trillion.
Two recalls during the year
In fact, this is the second time that Tesla has recalled new energy vehicles this year.
According to the news of the State Administration for Market Regulation on February 18, 2022, Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. recently filed a recall plan with 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 Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products. Effective immediately, the recall will be made of some domestically produced Model 3 (12,003 units) and Model Y (14,044 units) electric vehicles produced between December 28, 2020 and January 15, 2022, for a total of 26,047 units.
The heat pump electronic expansion valve of some vehicles within the scope of the recall will have slight movement when positioning, because the software (version 2021.44 to 2021.44.30.6) has no corrective 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. In the above state, especially when the temperature outside the car is lower than minus 10 degrees, the windshield defrosting system cannot achieve the defrosting effect stipulated by the relevant national laws and regulations, and the decline of the defrost function adversely affects the driver's field of vision, thereby increasing the possibility of collision risk of the vehicle when driving in cold weather, and there is a safety hazard.
Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will upgrade the software for vehicles within the scope of the recall through the vehicle remote upgrade (OTA) technology, and the user can complete the recall without going to the store; for vehicles that cannot be recalled through the car remote upgrade (OTA) technology, Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will contact the relevant users through the Tesla service center to upgrade the software for the vehicle free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.
Passive recall?
It is worth mentioning that Tesla's recall of vehicles at risk of failure, experts question or have the suspicion of "passive recall". According to the announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Tesla's recall was carried out under the circumstance that the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration launched a defect investigation.
According to Article 17 of the Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products (promulgated by Order No. 176 of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China on November 27, 2015 and effective from January 1, 2016): In any of the following circumstances, the State Administration for Market Regulation shall organize a defect investigation:
The producer fails to carry out investigation and analysis in accordance with the requirements of the notice; (2) the results of the investigation and analysis of the evaluated producer cannot prove that the automobile product is not defective; (3) the automobile product may have defects that cause serious consequences; (4) after experimental testing, the same batch, model or category of automobile products may not meet the national standards and industry standards for ensuring personal and property safety; (5) other situations that require the organization of defect investigations.
Su Hui, honorary chairman of the Tangible Market Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, told Time Finance: "Automobile recall is an inevitable and unavoidable practical problem in the automobile market. As long as there is an automobile market, there is automobile production, automobile consumption, there must be this problem. At present, the vast majority of the cars produced by manufacturers meet the quality standards, but the car has nearly 20,000 parts, not all of which are produced by the main engine factory, and there are several based on hundreds of supporting factories, and then assembled into the whole vehicle. Although our automotive technology is very advanced and perfect, it is difficult to say that it is 100% perfect or 100% high standard, and in addition to the quality of the product itself, there is also the level of process of assembling the whole vehicle. ”
Su Hui questioned whether Tesla was voluntarily recalling the car. Su Hui believes that before Tesla announced the recall, consumers may have reflected this problem to manufacturers through 4S stores and other sales channels. It is precisely because of the reaction of society that the relevant authorities may have conducted an investigation. Tesla realized that the problem was more prominent and should recall the car. "The incident damaged Tesla's brand image."
According to the data, in 2021, there were 232 recalls of domestic automotive products, with a total recall of 8.736 million vehicles. On March 9, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a document disclosing the above data. The article also said that the State Administration for Market Regulation pays special attention to the safety of new energy vehicles, while strengthening the supervision of vehicle remote upgrade technology (OTA) recall.
Xi Xufeng, a lawyer at Beijing Weiheng (Fuzhou) Law Firm, told Time Finance: "According to the available information, the possibility of car companies receiving administrative penalties due to investigation and recall activities is small, but the recall cannot exempt car companies from civil and administrative liabilities in production and sales. ”
Last year, China's revenue accounted for more than 20%.
Tesla's first quarter 2022 delivery report shows that in the first quarter of 2022, Tesla delivered more than 310,000 vehicles worldwide and produced more than 305,000 vehicles, a new high.
Deliveries of 184,800 units increased by 67.7% year-on-year compared to the same period last year. Among them, the first quarter of the Model 3 and Model Y deliveries reached 295,300 units, accounting for 95% of the total deliveries; Model S and Model X deliveries were 14,700 units.
Tesla's revenue in China, on the other hand, continued to grow significantly last year. In 2021, Tesla's revenue in the Chinese market reached $13.844 billion, compared with $6.662 billion in 2020, an increase of 107.8% year-on-year, and only $2.979 billion in the same period of 2019, with the Chinese market increasing by more than 100% for two consecutive years.
Tesla's revenue last year was $53.823 billion, and according to this calculation, China's revenue accounted for nearly 26%, further increasing from 21% in 2020. The U.S. market generated $23.973 billion in revenue for the full year, making it Tesla's largest market.
At that time, Tesla believed that the competitiveness of the electric vehicle market would depend on the ability to increase production capacity in the supply chain and the ability to increase production. Its future goal is to increase production as soon as possible, not only through new plants in Austin and Berlin, but also to maximize production at existing plants in Fremont and Shanghai.
Tesla expects vehicle deliveries to grow at an average annual rate of 50 percent over the coming years, however, "our factories have been below capacity for several consecutive quarters as supply chains become a major constraint, and this is likely to continue in 2022." (Beijing Time Finance Xiang Yu)