Tesla to recall nearly 200,000 cars in China over collision risk

Tesla is recalling nearly 200,000 vehicles in China over trunk and front hood problems that increase the risk of collisions, a state regulator said on Friday, hours after a similar move was announced in the United States.

The State Administration of Market Regulation of China noted that the defects could affect the cameras of the vehicles or cause the hoods to open suddenly while driving.

The measure affects three batches of “potentially” defective cars produced between 2015 and 2020.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company will inspect the cars for free and fix problems, the regulator said in a statement.

This episode is just the latest in a series of setbacks suffered by the American autonomous vehicle pioneer: The brand is extremely popular in China, but its reputation has been damaged by several security incidents and scandals in recent months.

The recall includes about 19,700 Model S cars that could have locking problems with the front hood and about 180,000 Model 3 vehicles. In the latter, repeated opening and closing of the trunk can damage a rearview camera cable.

The Chinese announcement came hours after US authorities said Tesla was recalling nearly 500,000 vehicles in the country due to similar problems.

Tesla estimates that only 1% of recalled Model 3 vehicles suffer from the aforementioned anomaly.

In June, the electric car giant already recalled more than 285,000 cars in China over problems with its assisted driving software that could lead to accidents.