Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co's joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Corp announced on Friday that it will recall almost 500,000 vehicles on March 19 due to potential power steering and oil pump problems.

 

This represents the biggest vehicle recall in China since the government launched auto recall regulations in October 2004.

 

The affected Honda automobiles include 419,613 Accord mid-sized sedans, 68,993 Odyssey multi-purpose vehicles and 10,908 Fit subcompact cars, the joint venture said. These vehicles were made between January 2003 and February 2007.

 

No accidents or personal injuries have been reported because of these defects, it said.

 

The move came after Honda's other joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp announced in January the recall of 45,900 CR-V sport utility vehicles due to shock absorber defects.

 

Vehicle recalls have taken place in China more frequently than in the past as a result of the compulsory regulations and fast-growing vehicle sales.

 

Twenty-two automakers recalled a total of 283,536 vehicles in China last year, according to data from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

 

Sales of China-made vehicles grew by 25 percent to 7.22 million units last year compared with 2005, which enabled the nation to unseat Japan as the world's No 2 vehicle market.

 

(China Daily March 17, 2007)