Volkswagen to recall more than 500,000 cars in China: report

BEIJING: Volkswagen's Chinese joint venture will recall more than 500,000 cars in China due to a defect in the rear axles, state media said Friday.

The German automaker, which has been in China since the 1980s, will recall a total of 581,090 cars, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

"The administration said it launched an investigation into the cars in August and the recall is the outcome of months of work on customer feedback and expert analysis," Xinhua reported.

Volkswagen -- which operates a joint venture with China FAW Group Corp -- has offered to "place a metal plate in the trailing arm of the rear axles to ensure the proper operation of the vehicles in case of a rupture", it added.

Last week, among the agreements signed during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Germany, Volkswagen extended its joint venture with FAW until 2041.

China is the world's largest car market and is crucial for foreign automakers as sales elsewhere have slowed due to sluggishness in the global economy.

The country's auto sales surged 13.9 percent to 21.98 million vehicles last year.