Below are Chery’s and Great Wall Motor’s press releases on the recall of their vehicles, numbering around 23,000, in Australia over asbestos hazard.

From Chery, August 16 (translated by ChinaAutoWeb.com from the Chinese version, which can read in this Xinhua report):

On August 15, Chery announced its decision to recall some of its Tiggo and A3 models sold in Australia. The recall covers 2,445 vehicles.

It is reported that the recall was issued because small amounts of asbestos, banned in Australia for environmental reasons, were found in the gaskets of exhaust pipes and intake manifolds. More specifically, on Tiggo, they were found in the sealing gaskets of exhaust pipes and intake manifold gaskets; on A3, intake manifold gaskets.

Asbestos is known as a widely used raw material, and harmful to people only when rubbed. As pointed out by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the asbestos was found in the gaskets of the engine and exhaust systems, and did not pose health risks to the drivers of affected vehicles. Currently, only some developed countries totally banned the use of asbestos, while most countries (including China) only prohibit its use in a vehicle’s braking system in their regulations for the auto industry.

In its effort to expand international markets, Chery Auto has always followed local laws and regulations in a strict way. Chery vehicle exports exceeded 110,000 in the first half of this year, and 700,000 since the founding of the company.

The recall results from mislabeling parts in China, which led to mix-ups in logistics. Wrong parts were used on some of the models exported to Australia. Chery will study the problem seriously and have a thorough inspection of models exported to other countries. If similar problems are found, the company will consider issuing recalls in accordance with local laws and regulations.

For the domestic market, Chery has already started replacing affected parts in July, acting as a socially responsible company, although Chinese laws do not require it to do so. The inspection is still going on, and affected parts will gradually be replaced as they are found.

From Great Wall Motor, August 15 (translation made by GWM, copied from GWM’s official site; for those finding the English text confusing and reading Chinese, the Chinese copy is here):

Declaration of Partial Products’ Gaskets of Great Wall Motors Contains Negligible Asbestos

Recently, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)website released the alert that some gaskets from the products of Great Wall Motors and other manufacturers contain negligible asbestos

It’s indicated in the alert that “there is no asbestos-related health risk to the driver or any passengers who use the vehicle. The gaskets are tightly embedded in the vehicle and present no hazard during normal operation of the vehicle. Caution must be taken if carrying out maintenance and special repair guide needs to be followed for the repair.”

The Australian distributor of Great Wall Motors has informed the owners with affected vehicles by letter: “ The affected gaskets will be replaced as and when required during normal in-service operation.”

Australia is one of important export markets of Great Wall Motors and we attach great importance on this event. We have made serious introspection and understand the problem comes from the negligence of local “CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS 1956-4C”. For this matter, Great Wall Motors coordinates and takes active cooperation with distributor according to the requirements of the alert, and take the responsibility for the customers.

At the same time, Great Wall Motors has already stopped using the gaskets that contains negligible asbestos material in domestic and overseas market, and started to inform the distributors to strictly implement the local national and regional related requirements.

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