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福特汽车和现代汽车两公司周二称，因两公司在华合资企业生产的98559辆伊兰特和索纳塔轿车存有潜在故障，公司将对这批汽车进行返修。这是自2004年10月我国的《缺陷汽车产品召回管理规定》实施以来，国内最大规模的汽车召回行动。北京现代表示，本次召回范围内的轿车，因产品燃油泵存在潜在故障，可能导致起动时点火开关非正常工作，极端情况下起动电机可能烧毁，故为相关车辆进行免费检查，更换点火开关，以消除缺陷。

The joint ventures of Hyundai and Ford in China yesterday said that they would recall a total of more than 151,000 faulty vehicles.

The joint ventures of Hyundai and Ford in China yesterday said that they would recall a total of more than 151,000 faulty vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Co's venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Corp said in a statement that it would start recalling 98,559 units of the Elantra compact sedan and the Sonata mid-sized sedan from October 26 due to ignition defects.

The vehicles were made between October 1, 2004 and March 22, 2005.

The company's move is the biggest single auto recall this year in the country, the world's third-biggest and fastest-growing vehicle market.

Ford Motor Co's venture with Chang'an Motor Corp in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality said that it yesterday began to recall 52,838 Focus compact sedans manufactured between June 17, 2005 and July 30, 2006 because of potential fuel pump problems.

The two companies' action bring the total number of vehicles recalled in China this year up to almost 280,000 units, according to figures from www.qiche365.org.cn, a website tracking automobile recalls under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Earlier this year, many other foreign automakers, such as Toyota, General Motors, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Renault, Mercedes Benz and Porsche, recalled defective vehicles .

Automakers have been recalling more flawed vehicles after the government released the first auto recall regulations in October 2004.

Earlier, some refused to recall faulty vehicles citing the absence of an auto recall system as an excuse. In developed nations, auto recalls are commonplace.

But the current regulations in China do not go far enough, analysts said, adding that much stricter rules and even legislation are needed to force manufacturers to recall faulty vehicles.

Currently, vehicle producers must recall defective vehicles or risk being put on a "blacklist" open to the public and fined a maximum of 30,000 yuan (US$3,790) if they are found to have tried to cover up problems.

(Agencies)