Short Torque

GM to recall 3.3m faulty vehicles

General Motors Co will recall more than 3.3 million vehicles in China from Oct 20 due to suspension defects, according to the country's top quality watchdog. The recall, which is the largest-ever by GM in China, involves Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles made at its joint venture, SAIC General Motors, from Sept 2013 to 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement in late September. It said these vehicles' suspension arms may be deformed under extreme operating conditions and could thus pose potential risks.

Ford, Zotye Auto in joint venture

Ford Motor Co has partnered with Chinese carmaker Zotye Auto to provide electrified vehicles and services including fleet management for ride-hailing service providers and drivers in China. With a starting capital of $20 million, the 50:50 joint venture will concentrate on establishing itself within Zhejiang province, where Zotye is headquartered, before expanding nationwide. For the first rental vehicle, the partners are looking at the fully electric Zotye Z500 EV sedan, which has a range of 330 kilometers.

Mazda holds design event

Mazda Motor Corp premiered its Vision Coupe and RX-Vision concept cars in China as part of a design event held in late September in Shanghai. The Japanese carmaker said the two models help to illustrate its Soul of Motion design philosophy that strives for cars to be more than just metal and exude the vitality of a living being. The Soul of Motion design also constitutes part of Mazda's Zoom-Zoom 2030 strategy that sets out how it will use driving pleasure and the fundamental appeal of the automobile to help solve issues facing people, the Earth and society.

Paris Motor Show opens its doors

Electric and hybrid vehicles are in the spotlight at this year's Paris Motor Show, as the world's leading car manufacturers display classic models with an environmentally friendly twist. The biennial auto exhibition, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, opened its doors to the media on Oct 2 and will be open to the public between Oct 4 and 11. Despite the absence of main brands Fiat, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo, which represent 40 percent of the European market, organizers expect 1 million visitors to pass through their doors.

Platform expands to video content

Top Auto, an automotive new media platform, launched its new video and shopping guide units in Beijing at the end of September, in an effort to provide more and better content to its users. Top Auto aims to strengthen the lines of communication between end users, auto enterprises and the media. The new video unit will focus on producing high quality short content in the form of interviews, new model introductions and the like.

Honda, GM eye self-driving car

Japanese carmaker Honda has joined forces with General Motors tech startup Cruise in the race to market self-driving cars, the companies announced on Wednesday. Honda's investment promises broader market access to autonomous vehicles once they are ready for the public. The Japanese government hopes to showcase self-driving cars when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics in 2020. With a $2.75 billion commitment in equity and shared development costs over 12 years, Honda joins Japanese conglomerate Softbank in backing the GM venture to create a multi-purpose vehicle that can be manufactured in high volume for use worldwide.

(China Daily 10/08/2018 page19)