- Some vehicles in the recall have fire risk due to battery reliability and control strategy issues in the battery management system software.
- Before the formal recall measures are implemented, Mercedes-Benz recommends that users set the charging limit of the vehicles to no more than 80 percent.
Mercedes-Benz has launched a new recall in China due to the risk of fire in the power batteries.
The German luxury automaker's joint venture in China, Beijing Benz, is recalling a total of 12,308 locally produced EQA and EQB vehicles with production dates between April 1, 2021 and October 31, 2023, starting from April 16, according to an announcement on China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) website.
Some of the vehicles included in this recall have a reduced battery reliability due to fluctuations in the high-voltage battery production process, according to the announcement.
In addition, the control strategy of the existing battery management system software may cause these battery cells to bear excessive loads.
These factors increase the risk of internal short circuits in the battery cells, which may lead to vehicle fires and pose a safety hazard, according to the announcement.
This recall was carried out after the SAMR initiated a defect investigation. Affected by the investigation, Beijing Benz will upgrade the battery management system software of the affected vehicles through authorized dealers to eliminate safety hazards, the announcement said.
Before the formal recall measures are implemented, Mercedes-Benz advises users to set the charging limit of the vehicles to no more than 80 percent.
The EQA and EQB are two electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) models from Mercedes-Benz.
This is the second time in the past year that Mercedes-Benz has recalled the EQ series of electric vehicles (EVs) in China.
On June 21, 2024, Mercedes-Benz announced a recall of 2,380 EQ series EVs -- including the imported EQS SUV and EQE SUV -- due to the risk of the vehicle losing power while driving.
Mercedes-Benz remains one of the most popular luxury brands in China, often appearing in the top three of Li Auto's (NASDAQ: LI) previously weekly shared list of best-selling luxury brands.
Li Auto has now stopped publication of the list in response to a call from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
The German luxury carmaker does not publish EV sales in China and fails to appear in the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s monthly ranking of the top new energy vehicle (NEV) sales companies.
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