Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million electric vehicles, involving all models sold in China
Cover image source: Visual China
A few days ago, the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd. will recall a total of 1,617,643 passenger cars in accordance with relevant regulations, including all imported and domestically produced models sold in China.
The recall is divided into two batches, one of which is a total of 7,538 imported Model S and Model X electric vehicles with a production date between October 26, 2022 and November 16, 2023. Due to the problem of door unlocking logic control, the door latch on the non-collision side may be detached from the latch in the event of a collision, so that the door is in a non-locked state, and there is a potential safety hazard, so it is recalled.
The other batch consists of 1,610,105 imported Model S, Model X, Model 3 and domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles between August 26, 2014 and December 20, 2023. The problem with this recall is that when Autosteer is turned on, drivers may misuse Level 2 driver assistance functions, increasing the risk of collisions and posing a safety hazard.
In order to solve the vehicle problem, Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd. will carry out a remote upgrade (OTA) of the vehicle to update the relevant functions.
Image source: Screenshot of the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation
In 2023, Tesla will have a large-scale recall in the Chinese market and the U.S. market.
In May of that year, Tesla recalled 1,104,622 domestic and imported models, and the "mandatory one-pedal" mode was canceled after the remote OTA upgrade. In November of the same year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Tesla would recall more than 2.03 million electric vehicles in the United States due to safety risks in the autonomous driving system, and the remedy was also OTA for some vehicles, which was also the largest recall since Tesla's establishment.
On the one hand, compared with the traditional in-store maintenance method, OTA only needs to upgrade the function through remote system update, which takes less time and is more convenient for car owners. On the other hand, intelligent models are more dependent on the vehicle system than traditional fuel models, and once there is a problem, the greater the impact on the vehicle function.
Some car owners posted on social media platforms that in their opinion, the "recall" is equivalent to patching the original function, which further improves the safety of the vehicle, and does not require the owner to go to the shop for maintenance, and his perception of the system upgrade is not obvious. However, some industry insiders said that whether it is in terms of product promotion or function settings, car companies should maintain a more rigorous attitude towards intelligent driving-related technologies to better ensure the safety of drivers and passengers.
From the perspective of market performance, compared with recalls, the impact of price on delivery volume is more obvious. In order to increase sales, Tesla will adjust the prices of its models several times in 2023. Last year, Tesla produced about 1.846 million new cars and delivered about 1.809 million new cars worldwide, a year-on-year increase of 35% and 38%, respectively.