Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is recalling a total of 10,469 Li ONE electric vehicles manufactured between November 14, 2019 and June 1, 2020, China's State Administration for Market Regulation ( SAMR) website information showed on Friday.
The vehicles included in the recall have safety hazards due to the design of the front suspension, which in extreme cases can increase the risk of accidents, and Li Auto will replace the parts free of charge.
Li Auto has received a lot of criticism for announcing free "hardware upgrades" for these vehicles rather than issuing a "recall" due to a number of previous crashes.
Li Auto announces plans for hardware upgrades in response to crashes
After the recall was announced, Li Auto issued an apology on Weibo, stating that the previous upgrade should be defined as a "recall" and that Li Auto's statement was not in line with the industry and public perception.
Li Auto sincerely accepts the public criticism and apologizes profusely to you, the owners, the media and the industry for its previous incorrect and unreasonable approach, the company said.
"We decided to immediately initiate an active recall procedure and filed an active recall with the Defective Product Management Center of the SAMR," the company said.
Li Auto optimises Li ONE's driver assistance system after series of accidents
