This newspaper (chinatimesnet.CN) reporter Yu Jianping and trainee reporter Wen Chong report from Beijing.
On January 11, the State Administration for Market Regulation** issued four recalls, involving China National Heavy Duty Truck, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar Land Rover. A week earlier, Tesla, Chrysler, Honda, Guangqi Honda, and Dongfeng Honda had also filed recall plans. According to the statistics of the China Times, in less than half a month of the beginning of 2024, more than 2.29 million vehicles have been recalled, and the number of recalls has reached one-third of that of last year.
According to the data released by the official new ** account of the State Administration for Market Regulation, in the past 2023, a total of 671 car recalls will be implemented throughout the year20,000 units, up from 448 in 202280,000 units, up 50% year-on-year. As of the end of October 2023, the cumulative number of recalls of automobiles in China has exceeded 100 million.
With the rapid development of the automotive industry and the continuous iteration of new technologies, the number of recalls is bound to increase with the increase in production and sales. "The normalization of recalls is an inevitable trend. At this stage, we should associate recall with innovation and coexist in synergy. Dong Honglei, director of the automotive department of the defective product management center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, once said.
The normalization of recalls is a trend, and large-scale recalls of more than one million are frequent
Among the several recalls at the beginning of 2024, Tesla has attracted much attention both in terms of the scale of the recall and the method of recall.
According to the official information of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Tesla will recall some imported Model S and Model X with a production date between October 26, 2022 and November 16, 2023, a total of 7,538 units, as well as some imported Model S, Model X, Model 3 and domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y between August 26, 2014 and December 20, 2023, a total of 1610105 vehicles.
It can be seen that this recall involves all Tesla's imported and domestically produced models sold in China, with a total of 1.62 million units. Such a large-scale recall has sparked a great deal of discussion. On the same day, Tesla made a rare public response, saying: "Some people think that the recall is negative." In fact, voluntary recall is a very meaningful thing, which is a strict requirement for enterprises to their own products, and it is also a responsible attitude. ”
Tian Li, an analyst in the automotive industry, told the China Times: "Recall is an effective guarantee for the healthy development of the automobile market, and it is also an important means for the automotive aftermarket to protect the personal and property safety of consumers, and it is an international practice." ”
More importantly, the recall requires strong financial resources and brand confidence of car companies to rely on. Internationally, some brands have even taken the initiative to recall as an important communication point to promote corporate responsibility. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the passenger association, also recently issued a document saying: "Since the recall is the attitude of the enterprise responsible, it should be said that the recall is not excellent, and the recall is more credible." ”
According to data from the State Administration for Market Regulation, in November 2023, the United States implemented 95 recalls and recalled 410210,000 vehicles; Japan has implemented 39 recalls, resulting in 150 recalls010,000 vehicles; China has implemented 12 recalls with 114 recalls360,000 vehicles, ranking third.
The normalization of recalls is an inevitable trend, and the current large-scale recalls of more than one million are also characterized by frequent occurrences.
According to the statistics of the "China Times" reporter, this is not the first time that Tesla has filed a recall of more than one million vehicles, and a large-scale recall of more than 1.1 million vehicles has been carried out in May 2023. Including Tesla, in 2023, there will be 2 recalls of a single brand and 3 recalls of more than one million vehicles in China.
In September 2023, Dongfeng Nissan announced a recall of a total of 11880,000 X-Trail, New Qashqai, and the seventh-generation Teana due to "poor sealing of the EGR valve, which may cause the vehicle to stall at low speed, and there are potential safety hazards", have become the cases with the largest number of single brands and single recalls in 2023.
In November, SAIC-GM became the second largest single recall case in 2023. Due to the fact that "the vehicle has poor moisture-proof performance due to the fuel pump control module, it will cause the vehicle to lose power during driving in extreme cases, and there are potential safety hazards", SAIC-GM's Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac 3 brands have recalled a total of 11340,000 cars.
With good OTA, car recalls may be twice the result with half the effort
For the industry, innovation can promote industrial changes, but innovation will face some unknown risks, and recall can make up for the omissions of enterprises in product design or technological innovation, and is an effective means to solve the batch and safety problems of vehicles in the aftermarket. Dong Honglei said that with the development of intelligent and networked technology, OTA technology has been widely used, and it can also be used as a technical means of recall to improve the timeliness of recall.
Tesla's solution to the problem of "the vehicle may be detached from the latch on the non-collision side of the vehicle due to the logical control problem of the door unlock in the event of a collision, which is a potential safety hazard" in the imported Model S and Model X, is to upgrade the software for the vehicles within the recall scope free of charge through the vehicle remote upgrade (OTA) technology to prevent the door latch from disengaging from the latch during the vehicle collision.
For some imported Model S, Model X, Model 3, and domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y due to the fact that "the driver may misuse the Level 2 combined driver assistance function when the Autosteer function is turned on, which increases the risk of vehicle collision", the vehicle remote upgrade (OTA) technology is also used to push the newly developed functions to the vehicles within the scope of the recall.
The remote OTA upgrade is applied to the recall as a means, which will improve the timeliness of the recall to a certain extent. After all, if the traditional way of entering the store to carry out a recall is carried out, it will take at least 2-3 years to complete the recall of a total of 1.62 million vehicles, and the recall completion rate is difficult to guarantee.
Remote OTA recall allows the vast majority of vehicles to complete software updates without visiting an authorized service center, which is convenient for users and ensures safety, while also improving the efficiency and completion rate of vehicle recalls. Tesla also said: "Recalls through OTA can help car companies better improve product safety." ”
In fact, in 2021, China has implemented 10 OTA recalls, involving 2.92 million vehicles; In 2022, 17 OTA recalls continued to be implemented, involving 88 vehicles70,000 units.
The use of OTAs for recalls has long been written into the relevant laws and regulations and regulations. For example, in November 2020, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Supervision of Vehicle Remote Upgrade (OTA) Technology Recalls, which put forward higher requirements for the development of software technology in OTA and other aspects of car companies.
It requires all manufacturers who use OTA to carry out technical service activities for sold vehicles to file with the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Recall of Defective Automobile Products and the Implementation Measures of the Regulations on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products. If the manufacturer adopts OTA to eliminate the defects of automobile products and implement the recall, it shall formulate a recall plan in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations" and the "Implementation Measures", file with the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and perform the main responsibility of the recall in accordance with the law. If the OTA method fails to effectively eliminate the defect or cause new defects, the producer should take recall measures again.
Of course, recalls through OTA upgrades not only bring positive sides, but also may have some security risks. Tian Li reminded that with the gradual improvement of the recall system and the continuous innovation of technology, car companies should apply OTA technology, especially not misuse, let alone evade recall through OTA, and damage the rights and interests of consumers.
Editor-in-charge: Li Yanan Editor-in-chief: Yu Jianping.