In a significant development for China’s automotive industry, Xiao Lingyun, Director of the Industrial Products Division at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) under the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), revealed that a substantial portion of vehicle recalls in China are now voluntary and driven by the complexities of new technologies.
Voluntary Recalls Reflect Quality Commitment
Speaking at the 2026 China Automotive Industry Development (Yantai) International Forum on September 19th, Xiao highlighted a positive trend: by the end of 2025, half of all vehicle recalls in China were initiated voluntarily by manufacturers. This move, he emphasized, signifies a commitment to quality and positions these companies as leaders in prioritizing customer safety.
Data presented by Xiao underscores the scale of vehicle recalls in the country. As of the close of 2025, China had implemented a total of 3,265 recalls, affecting 121 million vehicles. Of these, 662 recalls, impacting 64.0821 million vehicles, were a direct result of investigations, accounting for a significant 53.14% of all recalled vehicles.
New Technologies Spur Safety Defects
Xiao pointed to a particularly striking event on August 21st of the current year, when nearly 8 million vehicles were recalled in the Chinese market. He attributed this massive recall event directly to safety defects arising from the integration of new technologies into automotive design. “The recall supervision system has played a very good role in promoting the improvement of China’s automotive quality and safety levels,” Xiao stated, acknowledging the system’s effectiveness in addressing these emerging issues.
As previously reported, the August 21st recall involved multiple major manufacturers, including Tesla, Leapmotor, and Geely. The primary reason cited for the recall was the difficulty in identifying and operating the emergency mechanical release handle inside the vehicle, a critical safety feature that proved problematic due to its implementation with newer vehicle designs.
Navigating the Future of Autonomous Driving Safety
Beyond immediate recall issues, Xiao also addressed the evolving landscape of autonomous driving. He noted that while the training and testing of self-driving vehicles in China are extensive, much of this testing is conducted based on standardized parameters. In reality, however, vehicles continuously interact with non-standardized, unpredictable situations.
“Every driver takes their car out every day, dealing with non-standard situations,” Xiao explained. To better manage these complexities and enhance safety, the State Administration for Market Regulation has been refining its accident reporting system, bolstering safety monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and strengthening its “sandbox” regulatory framework.
This “sandbox” approach, Xiao revealed, has already proven effective, with approximately 2 million vehicles undergoing improvements under this regulatory oversight, thereby preventing potential large-scale accidents post-deployment. He concluded by stressing that while innovation is the engine of development, safety is the ultimate defining characteristic of an automobile. “Only safer cars will sell better. In the great sieve of the market, only brands and models that excel in both quality and safety will remain,” he asserted, signaling a future where safety is paramount in automotive success.
