On July 24, the First Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) conducted on-site inspections at GAC Group (GAC Aeon) and Xpeng (XPeng-W) in Zhaoqing, focusing on product safety guarantee capabilities and production consistency for road motor vehicle manufacturers.
During the inspections, MIIT examined the companies' intelligent connected vehicle safety guarantee capabilities, design and development capabilities, and production consistency maintenance. Inspectors randomly selected sample vehicles and power batteries, which were sent to relevant institutions for compliance testing against national standards.
According to a report from the National Business Daily on July 27, there are rumors that the inspections may be linked to quality issues with CALB's 177Ah lithium iron phosphate batteries. Previously, the GAC Group Aeon S series model, which uses this battery, was reported to have problems such as battery swelling, electrolyte leakage, and sudden power loss while driving.
Notably, CALB is not only a battery supplier for GAC Aeon but also for Xpeng, both of which were the subjects of the inspection. In response, an anonymous insider from GAC Group told reporters: "We haven't heard of a direct connection. It seems this is an industry-wide inspection." Another anonymous insider from Xpeng added: "It may not be limited to Guangzhou. We've heard that basically all major automakers will be inspected."
Prior to the inspections at GAC Aeon and Xpeng, the First Department of Equipment Industry of MIIT held a meeting on July 17 with key automotive manufacturers. The meeting aimed to further standardize competition in the automobile industry, enhance product consistency and quality safety, and launch safety risk investigations and inspections. MIIT proposed to collaborate with relevant departments to deepen the action on product consistency and quality improvement for road motor vehicle manufacturers, centrally address prominent issues, strengthen innovation design access review and testing verification, conduct inspections on product safety guarantee capabilities and production consistency, and manage inspection and testing institutions. Problematic manufacturers and institutions will be dealt with seriously according to the law, firmly safeguarding the safety bottom line of automotive products.
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