German premium car maker BMW yesterday said it will recall 1,685 sedans made in China starting from January 4, 2005 due to possible problems with seat heating mats.

The affected sedans include BMW 520i and 525i Series produced between May 15 to December 17, 2004, the company said in a statement.

BMW has applied to China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to recall the sedans.

The move is part of BMW's global recall of 52,200 units of 5 Series sedans.

"The extra mechanical forces when entering and exiting the car may cause damage to the seat heating mats on the backrest side in the lower segment of the backrest supports on both front seats. This, in turn, may cause damage to the seat backrest upholstery, and in rare cases damage to the occupant's clothing," BMW said.

"As of today, no such accident has occurred in the China market. This defect only involves the seats, rather than other parts of the car."

BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd, BMW's joint venture with China Brilliance Auto in northeastern Liaoning Province, will send by express the necessary accessories and special tools for the recall to BMW's authorized dealers nationwide, the company said.

Analysts say more domestic and foreign automakers will recall their faulty vehicles in China as a result of the nation's implementation of the first auto recall regulations starting from October 1 this year.

BMW's main rival Mercedes-Benz recalled some 13,000 cars in China in January and September this year.

Other foreign automakers recalling defective cars this year in China include Toyota, Mitsubishi Fuso, Ford and Honda.

BMW Brilliance, which has an annual production capacity of 30,000 units, also makes BMW 3 Series sedans.

The joint venture sold almost 8,000 sedans during the first three quarters of this year.

(China Daily December 28, 2004)