It is still unclear whether vehicles in Germany are also affected by the deficiencies.
(Photo: dpa)
New York, Düsseldorf The electric car maker Tesla has to recall a total of almost 700,000 vehicles due to deficiencies that may pose a risk to safety. Within a few days, an extensive recall for the USA was followed by another for China.
According to the Chinese market supervisory authority, it is about 200,000 vehicles, of which 144,000 are produced in China and 35,000 are imported “Model 3” as well as 20,000 imported luxury sedans “Model S”. The electrical pioneer generates around a fifth of its sales in China, the world’s largest market for electric cars.
It has reportedly been about the same safety threats previously reported in the US by the NHTSA traffic safety agency. All 356,000 “Model 3” cars built from 2017 to 2020 are affected on Tesla’s home market.
If you open and close the trunk lid, the wiring harness of the reversing camera could be damaged and fail. This became known shortly before the turn of the year through several media reports.
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In addition, there are 119,000 “Model S” cars built between 2014 and 2021 in the USA. There is a risk that the bonnet will open unexpectedly if a locking mechanism is released. This could “obstruct the driver’s view and increase the risk of accidents”.
The situation in Germany is still unclear
It is still unclear whether the deficiencies will also affect vehicles in Germany. The responsible Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) in Flensburg had not given a statement by Sunday.
Tesla recently had profits in the billions. However, competition in the market for e-cars is increasing significantly. Tesla faces competition from young companies such as Rivian and Lucid as well as from traditional manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen. Quality problems are particularly bad for the image.
Sales record in the fourth quarter
Regardless of the current quality problems, Tesla set another sales record in the fourth quarter of 2021. The US company announced that 308,600 electric cars were delivered to consumers between October and December. Another reason is the increased production at the plant in China. Tesla exceeded the expectations of analysts, who had expected sales of 263,000 vehicles. The Tesla share then rose by seven percent on Monday morning.
Tesla CEO Musk plans to continue its massive expansion course this year. Tesla is building two new plants in Austin (Texas) and in Grünheide near Berlin.
With agency material
More: Safety reasons: Tesla is recalling more than 475,000 vehicles in the US