BYD vehicles sold in Singapore not affected by recent recall

BYD vehicles sold in Singapore are not affected by the car manufacturer’s recent recall of about 97,000 electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China, said Minister of State for Transport Murali Pilai in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 16).

The Chinese carmaker announced in September that it was recalling its Dolphin and Yuan Plus EVs manufactured in China between November 2022 and December 2023 for a manufacturing fault involving a steering control unit that could lead to fire risks.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will continue to monitor the situation and will take appropriate action if any safety concerns are identified, said Pillai in response to questions from Members of Parliament (MP) on the matter.

He added that the Road Traffic Act requires vehicle manufacturers or dealers to notify the authority and affected vehicle owners once they are aware of any safety-related defects in vehicles made or sold by them.

Workers’ Party MP Louis Chua asked if LTA has conducted its own independent checks on the affected BYD vehicles, as well as EVs from other brands which have seen recalls, for greater assurance.

To this, Pillai replied that since the BYD recall did not affect vehicles sold in Singapore, LTA is not conducting its own checks.

More broadly, the authority does not conduct additional testing and inspection for vehicles affected in recalls, and instead requires motor dealers to promptly report any safety-related calls initiated by the vehicle manufacturer, he reiterated.