Another recall - Who's now?

[MadDog70]

India's Maruti recalls 100,000 cars over fuel leak

 

India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India announced Tuesday it has recalled 100,000 of its best-selling A-Star hatchback cars due to a fuel leakage problem. Maruti, majority owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, said it launched the recall last November to fix the fault. The A-Star cars are being recalled both locally and internationally, mainly in Europe, as a "proactive" step, the company said in a statement. "We decided to check all vehicles from the lot, around 100,000 units including those exported overseas," the company said. Maruti shares fell 3.24 percent or 44.8 rupees to 1,336.85 on the back of the announcement. It comes as Japanese competitor Toyota Motor Corp has recalled more than eight million vehicles globally due to accelerator and brake problems and faces class-action lawsuits. The five-door A-Star is part of Maruti Suzukis "global" car lineup. It is exported to such European countries as Germany, France and Britain. "We came across an anomaly reported in the fuel tank in some of the vehicles in November last year and contacted customers through letters," the company said. "No problem has been reported by customers." The recall covers those A-Stars made between November 2008 and August 2009. The company, the leader in India's main small car market, said it was changing the fuel pump gasket free-of-charge for customers. "The recall process is on and should be completed soon with more than 50 percent of the faulty cars having been fixed," a Maruti spokesman told AFP. The company said the problem could occur if the fuel was filled to the brim. Analysts said the recall should have a minimal impact on the company. "The collateral damage will be small, it is not a grave problem," said Mahantesh Sabarad, auto analyst at Mumbai-based Centrum Broking. "This is not a problem which will affect the safety of the car," he told AFP. Analysts estimated that the recall could cost Maruti 15 million rupees (326,000 dollars). Replacing a fuel pump gasket costs around 300 rupees a car, including labour, they said. Maruti has not disclosed the cost of the recall, but said it will be shared by the company and its supplier partner. The firm sold a record 95,649 vehicles in January, a 33.3 percent jump from a year earlier, aided by strong domestic and overseas sales. The A2 segment, which includes the A-Star, posted a 25 percent rise in sales to 58,540 cars.