Business 1 October 2024, 8:30am

BYD recalls nearly 100,000 electric cars due to a manufacturing defect

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Chinese car manufacturer BYD has announced a recall of nearly 97,000 electric vehicles to the Chinese regulator. The recall is due to a manufacturing defect in the steering control unit, which poses a potential fire hazard.

According to a statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the recall affects Dolphin and Yuan Plus models manufactured in China between November 2022 and December 2023. BYD dealers are instructed to carry out physical repairs on the recalled vehicles.

The Dolphin and Yuan Plus models were BYD's two most popular products in 2023. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, these two models accounted for 26% of the 3 million vehicles sold by the company during the year.

BYD rarely recalls pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The last time a similar incident occurred was in 2022, when a small series of Tang plug-in hybrid models were recalled due to a battery pack failure, which also posed a fire hazard.

The SAMR statement did not say whether any of the affected vehicles had been exported.