Short torque

Guangqi Honda widens recall of subcompacts

Guangqi Honda announced it will expand a recall of its Fit and City models from July 13. It will recall 106,722 units of the 2008 and 2009 editions of the Fit and of the City that were manufactured between Jan 2 and Dec 30, 2008.

The move follows its recall announcement made last month the largest recent recall in China-of 413,452 units of the Fit and the City that were domestically made between Oct 30, 2002, and Dec 28, 2007, due to problematic air bags.

GM suffers May slump after price cuts boost sales

General Motors and its joint ventures saw record China sales of 1,472,186 vehicles in the first five months of the year, an annual increase of 5.1 percent, after drastic price cuts. However, sales in May dropped 4 percent year-on-year to 252,567.

The company said May's drop in sales was primarily due to several model changeovers and the phase-out of older vehicles. GM's May sales saw improvements for SUVs and MPVs, which combined were up 21.8 percent, and Cadillac luxury models, which were up 10.9 percent. Shanghai GM's sales rose 3 percent to 660,270 units between January and May, but in May slid 7.6 percent to 119,214 units.

Chinese capital passes diesel standard

Beijing announced it will adopt the national V emissions standard, the most stringent in China, for diesel-powered vehicles this month, becoming the first city in China to adopt standards for both gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

It is projected that nitrogen oxide, or NOx, could drop by 40 percent in the city because of the plan.

There are approximately 22,000 heavy diesel vehicles in Beijing, accounting for 50 percent of NOx and 90 percent of particulate matter in the city, two major polluters of Beijing's air.

Toyota recalls more than 7,000 RAV4s

Toyota announced it will recall 7,340 units of the 2015 RAV4 that were manufactured between April 7 and May 7 of last year by Toyota's joint venture in China, according to China's quality watchdog.

The recall is due to a possible air leak in the vehicle's tires caused by a faulty air pressure monitoring system.

Chrysler recalls SUV due to light issue

Chrysler announced it will recall 4,220 units of its imported Patriot sport utility vehicle that were manufactured between Jan 29 and June 14, 2013.

The recall was due to a filament problem in the headlights. The company will examine the integrated electric circuits and related parts.

Porsche shuffles management personnel

Porsche announced management changes in the sports car manufacturer's sales regions and subsidiaries, with Franz Jung, 52, appointed as chairman of the executive board of Porsche China on June 1.

Jung has been with Porsche since 2014 as the vice-president of the regional overseas and emerging markets. His predecessor in China, Deesch Papke, 53, had developed the market for the past two years and is returning to Dubai to take over management of Porsche Middle East and Africa subsidiary.

Motoring

(China Daily 06/08/2015 page19)