BAIC’s electric vehicle (EV) unit BJEV will recall a large number of electric minivans due to safety concerns relating to their battery packs, according to China’s market regulator.
The 1,389 minivans affected were the EV maker’s Weiwang 407EV model produced in BJEV’s factory in Changzhou between June 11 2018 and November 30 2018. BJEV’s recall program will be effective from this Saturday.
The battery packs of the affected minivans could overheat during use, and in the most extreme cases, they could lead to fire incidents, according to the EV maker.
BJEV said the problem of the battery packs lies with a third party supplier’s quality control in the manufacturing process rather than with the design itself. The company says it will provide free checks and replacement battery packs to the affected vehicles.
BJEV’s minivan recall came after three separate EV fire incidents between January and March this year.
Last month, Chinese EV startup Nio recalled 4,803 of its ES8 flagship SUVs. also due to faulty battery packs. Before Nio’s recall, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice asking EV makers to examine and report any fire incidents to the authorities.