Problems for Tesla: Why Recall a Large Number of Vehicles

In December, Tesla recalled nearly 200,000 vehicles from China due to a trunk defect that increased the risk of collisions.

Tesla has recalled nearly 128,000 cars in China due to a malfunction that could “increase the risk of a vehicle collision,” the country’s state market regulator said.

This is the latest issue for the American electric vehicle giant, which is extremely popular in China, but has also faced complaints from consumers and has been hit by the COVID-19 blockade.

Approximately 127,785 domestic and imported Tesla Model 3 cars were recalled due to a fault in the rear engine inverter discovered after regulators launched a probe, according to a notification.

“In extreme cases, this failure could increase the risk of a vehicle collision.”

Tesla sold a record 70,847 cars in China in December, facing stiff competition from domestic brands such as Nio and XPeng.

The biggest market for Tesla

But the carmaker has also been the subject of numerous complaints from Chinese social media users about quality and service issues, culminating in a high-profile customer protest at the Shanghai Motor Show in April last year.

The Tesla Gigafabrica in Shanghai was closed for at least 12 days due to a spiral outbreak that recorded a record number of infections and isolated the city’s 25 million residents indefinitely.

In December, Tesla recalled nearly 200,000 vehicles from China due to a trunk defect that increased the risk of collisions.

As the world’s largest polluter, China has strongly encouraged sales of electric and hybrid vehicles through subsidies, aiming to keep most cars clean by 2035.

Tesla founder Elon Musk predicted last year that China would become the company’s largest market in the long run and sought to grow its position as the world’s largest consumer of electric vehicles.