Honda recalls 200,000 cars worldwide due to defects in engine parts

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. announced on the 25th that it has recalled 200,000 cars worldwide due to defects in engine parts.

Honda acknowledged that it had received 63 complaints from owners concerning engine failure caused by part defects in Japan, involving three models: "Stream", "Civic" and Sport utility vehicle "Crossroad". The recalled vehicles were produced at a domestic factory in Japan from July 2008 to July 2010.

Honda said that it will replace parts that may cause the engine cooling system to fail, and this may be the cause of the engine's eventual flameout. However, Honda also said that this defect did not cause traffic accidents.

“Globally, Honda will recall about 200,000 vehicles... The reasons for the recall are similar,” said a spokesman for Honda. In addition to recalling about 50,000 vehicles in Japan, Honda will recall 100,000 vehicles in South America and recall 6,800 vehicles in Europe. . The remaining recalls are expected to occur in the Middle East and Africa.

Honda announced in October last year that it had recalled nearly 472,000 cars and vans in the United States because the brake pumps of these cars were “squeaky” and could leak brake fluid.

Japanese automakers released the latest production data on the 25th, showing that Honda recovered its strength after the earthquake less than domestic competitors. Honda's global production in June dropped 44.5 percent year-on-year to 168,000 units, a slight decrease from 50.4% in May.

At the same time, Honda’s domestic sales in Japan fell by nearly 36% in June, and exports shrank by more than 60%. These two figures are almost equal to May.

This performance is even worse than smaller competitors such as Suzuki Motors. Suzuki produced 197,000 vehicles in June, a year-on-year drop of 15%. Suzuki produced a total of 1.36 million units in the first half of this year, exceeding Honda's 1.3 million units.

The situation of strong competitors is even more optimistic. For example, the Nissan Auto Group's global production in June was about 420,000 units, which was a year-on-year increase of 18.5%.

Toyota Motor Industry Corp’s global production in June was 590,000 vehicles. Although it fell 9.2% year-on-year, it was a noticeable improvement over 49% in May.

In the initial stage after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, the Japanese automobile industry almost stopped and at the same time slowed down the production schedule of Japanese car makers in North America.

As production returns to normal, US car dealers will have more models of small cars to sell, and may even see oversupply. Industry insiders predict that the hot selling models in autumn will include Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Prius.

George Davis, a Michigan Honda dealer, said: “Now, 50 cars are parked outside the window. In two weeks, there will be 300 vehicles.”

Davies said that American car makers General Motors and Ford Motor Co., etc. will follow the Japanese car prices and launch small car sales in the autumn. Consumers are expected to receive price reduction benefits.