Anti-monopoly guideline to clamp down on industry
An anti-monopoly guideline for China's auto industry, the first of its kind for a single sector, is expected soon. The National Development and Reform Commission, which sought public opinion on a draft of the guideline from March 23 to April 12, aims to cover auto sales practices, after-sales services and the supply of spare parts to online car sales sites and the maintenance of parallel imported cars.
As a result, carmakers and dealers in China will face stricter rules. Over the last two years, carmakers, spare parts suppliers and dealers have been fined a total of 2 billion yuan ($307.8 million) by regulators because of monopolistic practices. The latest penalty was handed down on South Korean tire producer Hankook, which was fined by Shanghai pricing authorities for 2.18 million yuan earlier this month for manipulating prices.
Takata airbag issues force slew of recalls across globe
More than 3.8 million cars from nine different brands have been recalled across China since last April due to safety problems involving airbags produced by Japanese company Takata Co.
China's quality watchdog has issued recalls for more than 40 domestically produced and imported models made from 1999 to 2014 from Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru and BMW, among others. More automakers are investigating airbags supplied from Takata. In the Unite States, carmakers have recalled 28.8 million vehicles because of safety issues with airbags from Takata.
