Short Torque

Rental firm partners with luxury carmaker

Chinese car rental firm eHi Car Services partnered with Jaguar Land Rover Corp earlier this month to provide high-end car rental services for business clients and premium users from Jan 14.

The two companies plan a series of joint projects, including promotions and membership communications.

Zhang Ruiping, chairman and CEO of eHi, said he hopes to bring more British luxury driving experiences to Chinese renting cars by providing premium vehicles.

Ken Forbes, global fleet and business director of Jaguar Land Rover, said the cooperation with eHi marks Jaguar Land Rover finding another new direction in the Chinese high-end car service market.

Four automakers announce recalls

Volkswagen, Chrysler, Hyundai and Geely are recalling vehicles in China, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced last week.

Volkswagen will recall 78,083 imported vehicles from Jan 25.

The 11 affected models are the Tiguan, EOS, Scirocco, Scirocco R, Magotan Variant, Magotan Alltrack, Sharan, CC, Golf R, Cross Golf and Golf Variant, all manufactured between Jan 22, 2009, and May 6, 2014.

Volkswagen said the vehicles have safety hazards from failures in car horns and airbags caused by foreign objects entering the electronic module of the vehicles' steering columns.

Some vehicles may also have problems with the steering wheel audio and telephone buttons.

Chrysler will recall 2,334 of its imported 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Commander models from Jan 28, due to defects in the ignition module.

The affected Grand Cherokees were produced between March 21, 2007, and May 12, 2008, and the Commanders were manufactured between April 3, 2007, and May 12, 2008.

Chrysler said the defective ignition modules could cause engine failure and result in safety risks. It will replace the faulty components free of charge.

Hyundai recalled 71 of its imported Genesis vehicles from Wednesday because of potential dangers of cracking on the sides of tires.

The company said it would replace the problem tires with Kumho tires, free of charge.

On Jan 25, Geely recalled 1,593 of its EC8 vehicles produced between Aug 21, 2012 and Dec 25, 2013.

The company said those vehicles have safety hazards of failures in side curtain airbags caused by the information errors.

Bentley launches education fund

British ultra luxury car maker Bentley held an exhibition in Beijing on Friday highlighting the achievements of its Village Education Program last year.

The corporate social responsibility program focuses on expanding students own aspirations, removing self-imposed limitations and encouraging them to aim higher.

The automaker also partnered with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to set up Bentley Education Fund on the same day. The fund plans to support a total of 500 under-privileged senior school students from 2015 to 2018, so they can complete their studies. The automaker will also provide four-year university education funds for 50 Bentley Class students entering college.

Bentley has called for more Bentley car owners and entities to join the program in the future.

(China Daily 01/25/2016 page19)