BYD has apologised after an assembly error led to the wider rear-wheel rims being fitted on the front tyres and narrower front rims placed at the rear on some Great Tang electric sport utility vehicles.
The company said an investigation traced the issue to a supplier in Hubei. BYD reported it has repaired the system that caused the mistake, and the supplier has introduced extra visual checks on the production line.
BYD said its own testing showed the affected vehicles’ handling was not compromised and there was no safety risk. Owners of impacted cars are eligible for replacement rims and the warranty period on those vehicles will be restarted. The automaker did not disclose how many cars were affected.
The problem came to light after several owners posted online complaints about the mismatched rims. Some owners said they were worried about uneven tyre wear and potential risks while driving.
The Great Tang is BYD’s full-size SUV and the flagship of its Dynasty range. The model is priced from 239,900 yuan (about $52,506) and has been central to BYD’s attempt to move into higher-priced segments since its launch in July.
BYD said October sales of the Great Tang reached about 14,000 units. The model has proved popular in China but is not yet being sold in Australia.
The incident comes as Chinese automakers face rising regulatory scrutiny over vehicle quality and durability, including tougher standards for items such as door handles, advanced driver-assistance systems and batteries. Regulators have already tightened checks in response to consumer concerns.
China’s EV makers are also expanding overseas to escape a domestic price war, a strategy complicated by currency swings. The onshore yuan has strengthened 4.6 per cent against the US dollar this year, and BYD revealed it took a 1.14 billion yuan hit to cash from exchange-rate movements.
Geely, another major Chinese carmaker, swung to a net foreign-exchange loss in the first nine months of the year after a gain a year earlier, which the company said limited net profit growth to 6.7 per cent from 41 per cent at the core level. The currency impact highlights a broader headwind for exporters.
While BYD said there were no safety incidents tied to the rim error, the episode touches on a sensitive topic for the industry as manufacturers contend with tougher oversight and greater scrutiny from buyers and regulators.
BYD remains the world’s biggest electric carmaker by sales, and the company’s response included immediate production checks and a commitment to owner remedies as it handles fallout from the assembly mistake.
