SHANGHAI-- Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Land Rover on Thursday said
it would recall more than 36,000 cars sold in China, after a
government-controlled television broadcast alleged some of its
models have faulty gearboxes.
Jaguar Land Rover said the Range Rover Evoque sport-utility
vehicles could have some problems, including malfunctioning or
noisy gear shifts, in a statement late Thursday. The company said
it would upgrade gearbox software to improve performance of the
nine-speed automatic transmission.
The recall was announced after China Central Television on
Sunday--a day dedicated to consumer rights in China--alleged that
Land Rover had failed to address the Evoque SUVs' gearbox problem.
A few hours after the news broadcast, the car maker apologized and
acknowledged knowing about the problem. Land Rover said would
continue to offer free gearbox software updates to customers, which
it started doing in January.
The public lashing recalled a similar CCTV consumer-rights
broadcast in 2013, during which the state broadcaster alleged
problems with the transmissions in some of Volkswagen's most
popular models. The company recalled more than 380,000 vehicles in
China following the airing of that show.
Sunday's broadcast also accused dealers for Volkswagen AG,
Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and Nissan Motor Co. of overcharging
consumers at some of their service centers in China. CCTV said that
in some cases the foreign car makers were charging more than double
what they should for car repair and billing customers for
unnecessary services. Each of the car makers said it is launching
an investigation into CCTV's allegations.
China has propelled growth for auto makers in the recent decade,
led by foreign-car companies. Government data show that local-brand
passenger vehicles accounted for 38% of China's domestic market in
2014, down from 46% in 2010. For sedans, local brands' share fell
to 22% from 31%.
In 2014, Jaguar Land Rover, a British brand, sold more than
122,000 cars in China, up 28% from a year earlier. In a bid to rev
up its sales in the world's largest car market, JLR and Chinese
joint-venture partner Chery Automobile Co. last year launched a
China car plant, where they are producing Evoque SUVs.
Although foreign car brands have been repeatedly targeted by
Chinese state media over quality issues, surveys among Chinese
consumers show they are considered to be higher quality than
Chinese brands.
A quality survey from J.D. Power & Associates last year
showed that Chinese brands had 131 problems per 100 vehicles, while
foreign brands had 95 problems per 100 cars.
--Rose Yu
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