Other carmakers are also recalling or plan to recall defective products in China.

Shanghai General Motors Co will recall 5,744 Buicks and Cadillacs starting Monday because of a potential problem with the gear information transfer, which can cause a drop in the engine's braking efficiency in extreme cases.

VW, Skoda to recall DSG faulty cars

Japanese automaker Toyota will also recall 4,400 imported FJ Cruiser cars because of seatbelt flaws. The company is busy working on a solution and will release improvement methods before April 15, Xinhua reported.

It will be Toyota's second recall this year. In January it announced it will recall 22,869 Lexus IS cars because of a wiper arm problem.

Chi Yifeng, deputy director of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said China's car recall system started in 2004, while the public's increased awareness of rights protection has prompted vehicle recalls.

Thirteen calls involving 330,000 cars were made in 2004, but between January and October last year, the quality watchdog conducted 59 recalls involving 2.75 million cars.

"The number is still much less than the number in the United States," Chi said. "That to some extent shows carmakers in China are weak in voluntary recalls and shouldering social responsibility."

In 2011, 592 recalls were made in the US involving more than 15 million cars. China conducted 85 recalls involving 1.83 million cars that year, The Mirror reported.

"In fact, Volkswagen's gearbox problems emerged last year, but it did not plan a recall until pressure from customers and the media grew," Chi said.

He said he hopes China's first regulation on recalling defective vehicles, which took effect on Jan 1, will help raise costs for carmakers that hold back on admitting defects.

The regulation requires automakers to investigate and report results to the quality watchdog if they are informed their products might be faulty. Those who hide defects face a fine of 1 to 10 percent of the value of the defective cars sold.

 

Li Fangfang contributed to this story.

chenxin1@chinadaily.com.cn