Tesla recalling 1.6 million EVs in China due to safety concerns
The electric vehicle company Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million electric cars exported to China due to safety concerns, Chinese market regulators said on Friday, according to Reuters.
Elon Musk's electric vehicle company is taking back 1.62 million vehicles, including its models S, X, 3 and Y in China made from 2014 to 2023, due to problems with automatic assisted steering and door latch controls.
Tesla can remotely upgrade the vehicles to fix the issues, the China State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement. The move is categorized as a product recall under Chinese regulations.
When the automatic steering function is engaged in these vehicles, drivers might misuse the combined driving function, increasing the risk of accidents, the notice said, according to The AP.
Fox Business requested comment from Tesla but did not immediately receive a response.
The news follows a similar recall in May where the company took back approximately 1,104,000 vehicles in China to address alleged widespread safety risks regulators said increased the likelihood of drivers mistakenly accelerating and risking collision. The recalls affected Tesla’s Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model 6 vehicles.
Tesla has sought to expand vehicle production through the construction of new facilities both domestically and abroad — including factories in China. Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai that is capable of producing 22,000 units of automobiles weekly.
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In early December, more than 2 million U.S. Tesla owners began receiving over-the-air software updates as a result of a recall due to the vehicles' autopilot feature, while later that month, Tesla recalled 120,000 vehicles over the risk of doors unlocking during a crash.
Tesla ended 2023 on a high, beating estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries, according to its production and deliveries report for 2023. The company delivered a record 484,507 vehicles between October and December and hit its 2023 target of 1.8 million.
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Fourth-quarter deliveries were about 11% higher than the third quarter, during which upgrades to assembly lines to make the updated Model 3 mass-market sedan hurt some production.
The new and much-hyped Cybertruck model was expected to make up only a small number of deliveries last year.
FOX Business’ Timothy Nerozzi, Eric Revell, Chris Pandolfo and Aislinn Murphy, as well as Reuters contributed to this report.