Electric Vehicle (EV) giant, Tesla is recalling 1.6 million vehicles in China to fix issues with the autopilot driver-assitance system to reduce the risk of collisions.
This recall was announced on Friday by China’s State administration for market regulation, which saw Tesla shares down 0.3% in premarket trading.
The recall which is happening in Tesla’s second largest market, affects Model S, Model X, and Model 3 sedans as well as Chinese-made model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs, where drivers can misuse a driving assistance feature, increasing the risk of vehicle collision and posing safety risks.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
Additionally, more than 7,500 Model S and Model X cars were recalled over concerns that, during a crash, the non-collision side door will unlock.
Chinese regulator stated that “For vehicles within the scope of this recall, when the automatic assisted steering function is turned on, the driver may misuse the level two combined assisted driving function, increasing the risk of vehicle collision and posing a safety hazard”.
The Issues with these models can be done through over-the-air software updates, which will not require drivers to bring the car for a physical repair. Tesla’s update will include adding controls and alerts to further encourage drivers to adhere to their driving responsibility.
Tesla’s recall in China follows a similar one in the U.S. that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in December.
The recalled happened after safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cited safety concerns with the autopilot, due to the high amount of road crashes, in which the feature was reported to have malfunctioned.
It is worth noting that Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023, lost its crown as the world’s biggest electric vehicle seller to China’s BYD, however, during the first 10 months of 2023 both companies grew their share of a slowing and highly competitive Chinese EV market.
Tesla sold more than 1,500 EVs in each of its Chinese stores on average in the first 10 months of 2023, up from 1,300 in 2022, data from China Merchants Bank International (CMBI) showed.
BYD in comparison sold under 600 cars per store in the same 2023 period including plug-in hybrids, similar to its 2022 performance, although overall it sold far more EVs than Tesla given its best-selling models cost half as much and it has 11 times as many local distributors.