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Further major recalls announced

China's quality watchdog announced the recall plans of nearly 500,000 units of Japanese branded cars for faulty air bags, adding the infected cars to 800,000 units this month, including Mazda and Honda Toyota, Mitsubishi models. Ford SUVs and Lincoln MKZ also announced recalls.

The largest recall is Guangqi Honda's 413,452 units of Fit and City, which are locally made between Oct 30, 2002 and Dec 28, 2007, due to problematic air bags provided by Tokyo-based Takata Corp, on the heels of the an earlier recall of more than 300,000 FAW Toyota cars for the same issue.

The problematic air bags also triggered recalls of 67,141 Guangqi Honda CR-V crossover, 3,621 imported Honda Stream and Civic, 219 imported Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution, Toyota China's 2,580 imported RAV4 and 206 imported Lexus SC 430.

Some of the air bags may not inflate fully, while some may release metal shards when opening. Guangqi Honda and Toyota China will replace the faulty parts free of charge.

Guangqi Honda will also recall 9,771 Guangqi Mitsubishi ASX for gear box issue, 326 imported Mitsubishi Eclipse for faulty ABS, 587 Accords and 534 Acura MDX and RLX for software updates FAW Mazda started recall of 28,600 Atenza made in Jilin province from July 31, 2013, to Jan 14 this year, due to a safety hazard in the fuel fume hose. The substandard hose could crack and leak gasoline fumes in extreme circumstances. The affected cars will receive inspections and any faulty parts will be replaced free of charge.

Tianjin FTZ to pilot parallel car import plan

A pilot program to allow independent dealers to sell imported cars - or parallel imports - will be initiated by the Dongjiang International Automobile City in the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone on May 18.

The Tianjin FTZ will be the second zone in China to allow independent dealers to sell directly imported cars, after Shanghai FTZ piloted a similar deal on February.

Earlier this month, Tianjin authorities issued new policies on imported automobiles in the aim to reduce the financial burden of auto importers.

Car sharing app launches in Beijing

Person to person, or P2P, car sharing mobile application provider Atzuche.com's service hit the Beijing market on May 18. The company provides a platform for private car owners to rent their vehicles, with insurance and credit guarantees offered and managed by the company.

It announced it has experienced huge growth and now boasts almost 1 million members, more than 30,000 vehicles and about 7,000 different car models after the service was launched in Shanghai in May 2014.

Electric cars given free reign in Beijing

Pure electric passenger vehicles bearing Beijing license plates will not be affected by the city's car ban from June 1 to April 10, 2016, the Beijing traffic management bureau said on May 18.

Under the ban, cars with license plates that end in a specified number - such as a car with a plate number that ends in 7 and a separate vehicle with a plate number ending in 2 - will be banned between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on a specified weekday within the capital's Fifth Ring Road.

Many large cities in China have imposed restrictions on vehicles in recent years to ease traffic congestion and reduce pollution.

Motoring

(China Daily 05/25/2015 page18)