China’s inspection authority vows to improve car quality inspection in 2014. But officials say it’s still very difficult for them to find ALL the problematic cars.
Although car makers in China are no longer as ashamed to admit defects in their cars, officials say effective quality inspection will not be possible without the help from car designers.
"We don’t control the technology, so we need car designers to work with us by providing relevant technical information. Only by doing so, can we do some in-depth analysis. But now there’s a significant information asymmetry between what we have and what they have." said Xiao Lingyun, Director of Car Recall Dept., General Admin. of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine.
Official numbers from China’s quality administration shows the country is lagging far behind developed countries in terms of inspection capacity. While the number of cars recalled in the U.S. in 2012 was 110% higher than the cars sold in the country that year, that number only accounted for 16 percent of all cars sold in China in the same year.
"We are going to enhance recalls for cars with defects in 2014. We will strengthen local quality bureaus’ inspection into auto makers as well as improve technical teams’ investigation capacity." said Yan Fengmin, Director of Law Enforcement, General Admin. of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine.
Officials say the completion of recalls becomes even more difficult when only 8 in 10 cars actually go back to the sellers. Some car owners simply don’t think there are major problems with their cars. Officials say it is crucial for owners to act upon their recall notices immediately by bringing their cars back to the sellers.
"This is for your own safety and for other cars and drivers on the road." said Sun Ning, Assistant Director, Center of Defected Product, General Admin. of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine.
Official numbers in 2013 show the three most frequent defects are identified in engine, power transmission and brake systems.
Source: CCTV
