Short torque

VW creates child safety fund in China

Volkswagen announced it will establish the Volkswagen Group China Child Safety Fund on June 29 during a forum on child traffic and road safety sponsored by VW and the China Women Development Foundation.

The company donated 10 million yuan ($1.63 million) to the foundation to kick off a series of child safety education projects in disaster-stricken areas.

During a survey by VW and the foundation last year, 84.9 percent of surveyed parents know that child safety seats are needed in their cars, though only 17.8 percent of cars have such seats in China. Only 11.5 percent of those surveyed said they use the seats, far lower than the 90-percent usage in Western countries.

CAR Inc beefs up service with BMW sedans

BMW delivered on Tuesday 600 of its 5 Series sedans to CAR Inc, a Chinese car rental service provider.

A hundred BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrids and 500 BMW 520 Li are now on the rental company's lineup of BMW limo cars.

Harald Mayer, vice-president of corporate, special and used-car sales at BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd, said, "BMW and CAR Inc enjoy an excellent partnership. We highly appreciate CAR's initiative to set up the 530 Le Limo Service Fleet in Shanghai. Obviously, this will be very helpful to raise public awareness of this new technology."

CAR introduced its limo car service earlier this year with its BMW cars as the centerpiece of the service. "BMW is our strategic partner. So far, BMW limo cars have reached 1,000 units. Our main market positioning for the high-end limo car is based on the most favorite, the BMW 5 Series business sedan."

Toyota China to recall 2,801 Lexus autos

Toyota Motor China Investment Co Ltd announced it will be recalling 2,801 imported Lexus vehicles because of a malfunction in the anti-lock braking systems, according to China's quality watchdog.

The recall involves Lexus NX 200 and NX 200t models manufactured between Dec 18, 2014, and Feb 3, 2015, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

The malfunctioning ABS could create significant risks to safety, it said. The company will check and replace the ABS free of charge. The recall starts on June 26.

Sports carmaker to recall imported 918 Spyders

Porsche announced it will recall imported 918 Spyder from June 15. The series were manufactured between June 2014 to February and 58 were sold on the Chinese mainland.

The sports carmaker said power lines in the cooling fans and heat conduction plate made of carbon fibers could short-circuit and ignite. The company will help car owners repair the flawed parts for free. Drivers are advised not to drive their cars before the measures are taken.

Motoring

(China Daily 06/01/2015 page19)