Sime Darby Motors: BYD Recall Limited To China Market Only

NEV-making giant BYD is undertaking a mass recall involving two of its best-sellers, the Dolphin EV hatch and Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) EV crossover SUV, in China where it will reportedly affect 96,714 units.

Loyal followers of Carz.com.my will remember that we ran a report earlier this week about a mass recall being performed by Chinese NEV-making giants BYD. Said effort is poised to affect 96,714 units of both the BYD Dolphin EV hatch and its larger BYD Atto 3 EV crossover SUV stablemate.

Said recall stems from a fire risk borne out of a manufacturing defect in the electric power steering column assembly controller. The NEV-making giant reportedly detected possible cracks forming in which that could cause short circuits, overheating, and potentially spark a fire.

Official statement issued by Sime Darby Motors - official Malaysia distributor of BYD passenger cars - late yesterday.

Initially, it was unclear if any of the affected units involved units it exported overseas. However, local BYD brand distributors Sime Darby Motors has finally issued an official statement late yesterday indicating that local Malaysian BYD owners have nothing to worry about.

“BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd. and BYD Automobile Co., Ltd. are recalling certain domestically produced Dolphin and Yuan PLUS (Atto 3) electric vehicles. The batches and models recalled within the China mainland region do not pertain to markets outside of the China mainland region,” read Sime Darby Motors’ statement.

Presently, owners who's already purchased the BYD Dolphin EV hatch in Standard (left) and Extended Range (right) can breathe a sigh of relief as their units are not affected by this recall.

The same sentiment applies to local owners of the BYD Atto 3 EV crossover SUV, which was recently re-launched last month with updated specifications.

Effectively, the firm has reassured that both the Dolphin and Atto 3 units in Malaysia are not affected by this recall. Given that Malaysia-bound units are all in right-hand-drive (RHD) form instead of left-hand-drive (LHD) as how they are marketed in China, it appears that this recall only affect the latter LHD versions only.

Both the Dolphin andAtto 3 stand as popular offerings form the NEV-making giant in the local EV marketspace. The former EV hatch offering was launched back in July 2023 whilst the latter EV crossover first landed in Dec 2022 before being updated in May this year and again last month.