China's biggest car exporter will have to widen a recall of cars which have been found to contain carcinogenic parts.
Chery Automobile Co is extending a vehicle recall to include Australia after finding parts containing the cancer-causing substance asbestos. Chery will recall a total of 18,875 vehicles from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Singapore, and now Australia. In August, Chery and Great Wall Motor Co recalled 23,000 vehicles in Australia, after authorities detected banned material in the engine and exhaust gaskets.
In a statement, Chery spokesman Huang Huaqiong claimed “the same supplier that provided parts for the cars made for Australia also mistakenly provided us parts containing asbestos that went into these other cars.” Apparently, workers had mistakenly used the wrong batch of parts which weren't designated for export to Australia.
The widening callback and use of dangerous or prohibited materials in cars could be harmful to the reputation Chinese automakers in general, spelling bad news for companies looking further and further afield for sales.
Chery sold a record 160,200 units overseas in 2011, up 73% from a year earlier, and is on track to meet its 2012 target of 170,000 vehicles.