Due to a software deviation, some of the vehicles included in the recall may experience a high-voltage battery disconnection, which could cause the vehicle to lose power while driving.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is recalling more than 2,000 EQ series electric vehicles (EVs) in China, adding a blow to already weak EV sales.

Beginning June 21, 2024, Mercedes-Benz is recalling a total of 2,380 EQ series EVs in China due to the risk of the vehicles losing power while driving, according to an announcement on China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) website today.

This includes 39 imported EQS SUVs with production dates between November 28, 2023 and February 7, 2024, and 2,341 locally produced EQE SUVs with production dates between November 1, 2023 and April 25, 2024.

Due to a software deviation, the high-voltage battery management system in some of the vehicles covered by this recall is unable to process diagnostic requests from some of the control units, according to the announcement.

This could result in the high-voltage battery being disconnected and the vehicle losing power while driving, posing a safety hazard, the announcement said.

Mercedes-Benz will upgrade the high-voltage battery management system control unit software for the recalled vehicles free of charge to eliminate the safety hazard, the announcement said.

This is the second time in the past year that Mercedes-Benz has recalled EVs in China because of the risk of loss of power.

On August 4, 2023, Mercedes-Benz recalled 2,324 imported EQS vehicles with production dates between June 14, 2021 and July 8, 2022, according to an announcement on the SAMR website.

That recall last year was due to a software issue that could cause the electric drive module to deactivate, leaving the vehicle with a loss of power.

Mercedes-Benz remains one of the most popular luxury brands in China, and it regularly appears in the top 3 of the list of top-selling luxury brands shared weekly by Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).

The German luxury automaker doesn't report EV sales in China and fails to make the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s monthly ranking of top-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) makers.

The company is reportedly adopting smart driving solutions from Chinese startup Momenta to enhance the appeal of its EV models.

Mercedes-Benz's all-electric CLA model will be equipped with an HD map-independent smart driving solution provided by Momenta, which will enable pilot assisted driving in urban areas, according to a June 6 report by local media outlet 36kr.

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