The Chinese regulatory body, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has announced that Italian automaker Fiat is to begin a recall of its locally built Viaggio cars starting Friday (20 November). The recall for 42,935 Viaggio cars is due to issues with the gearshift system in the sedans, reports Xinhua News Agency.
Significance: The Viaggio cars are built at the joint venture between Fiat and Guangzhou Automobile Group Corporation. The recall involves cars produced between August 2012 and December 2013 and related to potential parts becoming loose in the gearshift system. The Viaggio was launched in September 2012. In 2012, a total of 11,288 Viagio units were sold in China, IHS data shows. In 2013, this rose to 48,375, dropping slightly to 47,651 or so units in 2014 in China. This year the volume is expected to drop significantly to around 28,000 unit sales.
