India is one of the booming markets where car manufacturers around the world are looking forward to invest. With so many brands in the market, the automobile manufacturing fraternity felt the need to form a voluntary code on vehicle recalls as the government did not have a recall policy for the cars and bikes sold in the country. In 2012, a code was formed by the fraternity and since then more than 17 lakh units (including 2-wheelers) have been recalled. The code has however turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the customers.
The official count of the total number of recalled vehicles was announced by India's Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises recently and in a written format was submitted in the Rajya Sabha. A total of 16,68,416 four-wheelers and 1,01,014 two-wheelers have been recalled in India since the code came into being was mentioned by GM Siddeshwara, Minister of the State.
The following list consists of the top five most recalled vehicles (manufacturer-wise) in India:
5. Maruti Suzuki
Total recalled vehicles: 2,05,964 lakh
Most recalled cars: Swift, Dzire
The more popular a brand is, the higher is the probability for the brand to face problems. Maruti is positioned at fifth place as the company had faced a tough time in Apri'14 in relation to a fuel leak problem referring mainly the Swift hatchback. Apart from this, the company had also issued recalls related to a defect in the wiring harness and a battery issue in September later that year. The most recent recall by the company is referred to the recall of more than 33,000 Altos for an issue with the door latch assembly in March 2015.
4. General Motors
Total recalled vehicles: 2,56,597 lakh
Most recalled car: Beat
Next in line is American car maker Chevrolet who had observed two major recalls in the previous year. The first recall was announced in July 2015 wherein, there was an issue with the keyless entry remote. The second was announced in December 2015, in which the company had reported a possible fault in the clutch pedal which had the tendency to break under extreme conditions. The total number of Beats recalled resulted in summing up close to 1.5 lakh units.
3. Ford
Total recalled vehicles: 3,20,877 lakh
Most recalled cars: Figo, Fiesta
The next car maker on the chart is Ford Motor Co. who apparently soon after the recall code was implemented ended up in issuing a recall of the Figo hatchback and the Fiesta sedan in India. The affected cars belonged to the ones manufactured from the beginning from July 2013 till the end of 2013. The Figo recall was subject to a minor crack in the Rear Twist Beam (RTB) while a small leakage issue for the Fiesta.
2. Volkswagen
Total recalled vehicles: 3,31,664 lakh
Most recalled car: All cars with the EA189 engine
German car manufacturer Volkswagen apparently has been involved in the biggest scandal to have occurred till date in the automobile industry. The cars with the EA189 diesel engine were reportedly found to be equipped with a defeat device which would deliver a false report when tested for emissions. In India, close to 3.23 lakh vehicles were recalled by the manufacturer which included cars like Polo, Vento, Jetta and Passat. The company had proclaimed that the recall is only an update for the engine and not linked to the scandal.
1. Honda
Total recalled vehicles: 4,56,092
Most recalled car: City
Topping the chart is surprisingly a Honda, and even more astonishing is the fact that its none another than the popular City sedan. Since 2012, Honda has issued the recall of 2,54,133 units of the sedan. The major recall by the Japanese car maker was announced in September 2015 wherein 1,40,508 units of the sedan were recalled for fixing the 'rupturing of the inflator body due to excessive internal pressure at the time of airbag deployment.' With nearly 60 per cent of the total recalls since the voluntary code was adopted, the year 2015 was the busiest year for the industry in terms of recalls as mentioned earlier.
Source: CarDekho.com
