LDN - Business

Ford's China joint venture to recall more than 500,000 vehicles

[February 02, 2018]

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Ford Motor's <F.N> China joint venture will recall more than half a million vehicles due to brake-related issues, an additional headache for the U.S. carmaker as it faces rising challenges in the world's top auto market.

The recall, which will start from Feb. 25, is linked to issues with materials used for brake hoses that could affect braking distances, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its website.

The watchdog said Changan Ford, Ford's passenger car joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co <000625.SZ>, would recall 371,371 Mondeo models and 195,796 Edge SUVs.

Ford confirmed in a statement the recall was to "correct a concern related to brake hoses on certain Edge and New Mondeo vehicles".

The recall work would be conducted free of charge for customers and should take around two hours, the carmaker said.

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The Ford Motor Company logo is pictured at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

The recall follows the sudden resignation of Ford's China chief, Jason Luo, this week after only five months at the helm, a departure that throws a spanner in the automaker's attempts to turn around a sales slump in the market.

Its China sales slid 6 percent last year versus a 3 percent rise for the market overall. Luo was meant to help Ford improve ties with local partners like Changan Automobile.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, which announced a 24.5 percent jump in its January China sales on Friday, will also recall 181,797 vehicles, the quality watchdog said in a separate statement.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Amrutha Gayathri)

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