Domestic Chinese brands accounted for 1 per cent of car recalls in China last year, a tiny proportion that potentially signals under-reporting of quality and safety issues by the country’s auto¹ industry.

中国本土品牌汽车占去年中国汽车召回总量的1%，这一微不足道的比例可能表明，中国本土汽车产业低报了汽车质量和安全问题。

Chinese automakers’ share of total recalls in 2016 was the lowest recorded, according to government figures, and particularly low compared with domestic brands’ market share in China, where last year 41 per cent of autos sold were homegrown brands.

根据中国政府公布的数据，2016年中国本土汽车制造商占召回总量的比例创有记录以来最低，与本土品牌占中国市场的份额很不相称。去年，中国本土品牌占中国市场汽车销量的41%。

Analysts² and industry executives said the low share of domestic brand recalls in the world’s biggest car market was unlikely to be due to higher vehicle quality, and more probably the result of having an inside track in fending⁴ off pressure from consumers and government quality inspectors⁵.

分析师和行业高管表示，中国本土品牌在这个全球最大汽车市场中的低召回比例，不太可能是由于本土品牌汽车的质量更好，而更可能是由于本土品牌有门路，可以抵御来自消费者和政府质检部门的压力。

“It’s definitely not normal for the domestic manufacturers to have 1 per cent of the recalls — they’ve made rapid progress in recent years, but almost certainly remain behind the international manufacturers on quality,” said Robin⁶ Zhu, lead auto analyst³ at Bernstein in Hong Kong.

伯恩斯坦(Bernstein Research)驻香港首席汽车业分析师Robin Zhu表示：“中国本土汽车制造商占召回汽车的比例只有1%，这绝对不正常——最近几年它们进步很快，但几乎可以肯定的是，它们的质量依然落后于国际制造商。”

He cited a reluctance⁷ to initiate⁸ recalls, or at least to do so publicly via China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision⁹ Inspection¹⁰ and Quarantine (AQSIQ), which is responsible for enforcing quality standards. In addition, he said, the discrepancy¹¹ between domestic brands’ share of sales versus¹² recalls raised questions over “uneven¹³ enforcement of the quality recalls system by AQSIQ”.

他提到厂商不愿发起召回，或者至少不愿通过负责执行商品质量标准的中国国家质量监督检验检疫总局（简称：国家质检总局）公开发起召回。此外，他还表示，中国本土品牌汽车的销量份额与召回份额差别之大，令人怀疑“国家质检总局对质量问题召回体系的执行存在不公”。

Few foreign cars are imported into China, but are instead typically made almost entirely¹⁴ in China by joint ventures. However, foreign brands typically have their own technology, management, parts and separate factories, so cars produced with local partners are counted as foreign rather than domestic.

没有多少国外品牌的汽车是通过进口进入中国市场的。相反，它们通常由合资企业几乎完全在中国国内生产。不过，国外品牌通常有自己的技术、管理、零部件以及单独的生产工厂。因此，由本地合作伙伴生产的汽车通常被算作外国车而不是本土车。

While the quality of Chinese brands has risen over the past two decades, it still lags that of western automakers, according to market research group JD Power, which publishes data on the global auto industry. In its 2016 Initial Quality Survey of new autos, JD Power found 112 problems per 100 Chinese-brand vehicles, compared with 98 in foreign brands.

根据发布全球汽车业数据的市场研究集团君迪(J.D. Power)的说法，过去二十年中国品牌汽车的质量虽然已有所提高，却仍然落后于西方汽车制造商。在君迪发布的《2016中国新车质量研究》(IQS)中，该公司发现中国品牌每百辆车问题数为112个，国外品牌为98个。

Recalls in China are supposed to be initiated¹⁵ by consumer complaints that are reported either to automakers or directly to AQSIQ.

在中国，汽车召回理论上应由报到汽车制造商或直接报到国家质检总局的消费者投诉发起。

AQSIQ declined to provide information on complaints or how recall decisions are made.

国家质检总局拒绝提供有关投诉或召回决策过程的信息。

Anecdotal evidence suggests domestic automakers prefer to fix problems discreetly¹⁶ and directly with consumers, rather than via public recalls. “Chinese automakers are still concerned about whether recalls will have a negative impact on their brand, thus they are less likely to initiate recalls and might find other ways to solve their quality issues,” said Xing Lei, chief editor of China Automotive Review.

坊间证据显示，中国本土汽车制造商宁愿通过私下直接与消费者接触来解决问题，而不愿通过公开召回的方式解决问题。《中国汽车要闻》(China Automotive Review)主编邢磊表示：“中国汽车制造商仍然担心召回是否会对其品牌造成负面影响。因此，它们不太可能发起召回，而可能寻找其他途径处理它们的质量问题。”

Xu Haidong, assistant secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile¹⁷ Manufacturers, said that domestic car companies were more “intimidated¹⁸ by the idea of car recalls” than their foreign counterparts.

中国汽车工业协会(China Association of Automobile Manufacturers)秘书长助理徐海东表示，比起国外车企，本土车企“对汽车召回更加闻之生畏”。

Meanwhile, rising consumer nationalism in China has made foreign companies particularly trigger happy when issuing recalls, experts said.

同时，专家还表示，中国不断高涨的消费民族主义，令外国企业发起召回时“宁可错杀、不可放过”。

In 2015 a number of foreign automakers were featured on a consumer rights programme aired on state television that accused them of overselling repairs and spare parts to drivers. In order to avoid such scrutiny¹⁹, “foreign brands usually make active moves such as auto recalls to show their initiative in maintaining quality in China. . . to maintain their relationship with the government”, said Mr Xing.

2015年，中国官方电视台播出的一个消费者维权节目曝光了多家国外汽车制造商，指控这些制造商在维修和更换零部件时“宰客”。邢磊表示，为避免遭受这样的拷问，“外国品牌通常会采取汽车召回等积极举措，以显示它们积极主动地维持在华产品质量水准……并维护与政府部门的关系”。

Mr Xing added that multi-country recalls of faulty parts are another reason recalls of foreign brands were higher.

邢磊还表示，有缺陷零部件在多国被召回，是外国品牌召回比例更高的另一个原因。

Last year 11m autos were recalled in China, just over 120,000 of which were domestic brands, according to AQSIQ.

根据国家质检总局的数据，去年中国被召回的汽车有1100万辆，其中本土品牌汽车超过12万辆。