China’s shrinking car market has received another reality check as regulators step in to police the hi-tech offerings that carmakers use to drive sales.
A nationwide inspection campaign assessing the quality of Chinese-made cars that was announced this week would see some consumers shelve purchase plans, exacerbating a bearish outlook for the country’s auto sector, dealers and analysts said.
Vice-Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday that new auto products and technologies would be barred from entering the market unless they passed stricter approval procedures.
“Some reckless innovative designs were installed in vehicles without sufficient testing and verification,” Xin said. “Several incidents attracted public attention due to concerns about the cars’ quality and the safety of autonomous driving technology.”
The ministry announced on Thursday that a one-year campaign to review smart driving, product design and the safety of cars would begin soon.
“Several accidents and growing consumer complaints have spurred the regulators into action,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “With improved oversight, carmakers will have to shift their focus from making their vehicles more intelligent to ensuring quality.”
Three people died in March last year when the Xiaomi SU7 they were travelling in crashed in central China’s Anhui province while its driver-assistance system was operating. The preliminary self-driving system alerted the driver to take control just two seconds before the electric vehicle (EV) crashed into a barrier at high speed.