Nissan venture fined for EV subsidy fraud
Nissan Motor Co. became the first foreign automaker punished by Chinese regulators for selling substandard electric vehicles to obtain government subsidies.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology revoked Zhengzhou Nissan's production permits for three models equipped with electric motors and batteries from uncertified suppliers.
The ministry also temporarily suspended the company's eligibility for EV subsidies.
Zhengzhou Nissan is a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co. and Dongfeng Motor Co. The partnership had applied for subsidies for three EV models produced in 2015, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The ministry's inspectors found out that 88 EVs produced by the company were installed with uncertified electric motors, and 20 had uncertified batteries.
The ministry ordered Zhengzhou Nissan to fix all EV-related problems in the next two months, and it announced plans to dispatch a team to monitor the company's compliance efforts.
Zhengzhou Nissan, based in the north China city of Zhengzhou, assembles vans, SUVs and pickups for the Nissan brand. It also builds multipurpose vehicles, pickups and cars for Dongfeng's DF brand.
In the central China city of Wuhan, Nissan also runs a passenger vehicle joint venture with Dongfeng.
China's Ministry of Finance launched an investigation of EV manufacturers in 2015 following media reports that automakers had engaged in rampant cheating to qualify for subsidies.
To date, Zhengzhou Nissan and 11 Chinese automakers have been punished for inflating sales and selling substandard products. The domestic companies include nine bus makers and one passenger vehicle manufacturer, Lifan Industry Co.
China Youngman Automobile Group, SAIC Tangshan Bus, Lifan Group, Shanghai Sunwin Bus, Nanjing Special Auto Manufacturing and Chongqing Hengtong Bus were also cited by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for producing and selling vehicles with batteries that had lower power capacity than advertised.
The ministry also temporarily suspended the company's eligibility for EV subsidies.
Zhengzhou Nissan is a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co. and Dongfeng Motor Co. The partnership had applied for subsidies for three EV models produced in 2015, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The ministry's inspectors found out that 88 EVs produced by the company were installed with uncertified electric motors, and 20 had uncertified batteries.
The ministry ordered Zhengzhou Nissan to fix all EV-related problems in the next two months, and it announced plans to dispatch a team to monitor the company's compliance efforts.
Zhengzhou Nissan, based in the north China city of Zhengzhou, assembles vans, SUVs and pickups for the Nissan brand. It also builds multipurpose vehicles, pickups and cars for Dongfeng's DF brand.
In the central China city of Wuhan, Nissan also runs a passenger vehicle joint venture with Dongfeng.
China's Ministry of Finance launched an investigation of EV manufacturers in 2015 following media reports that automakers had engaged in rampant cheating to qualify for subsidies.
To date, Zhengzhou Nissan and 11 Chinese automakers have been punished for inflating sales and selling substandard products. The domestic companies include nine bus makers and one passenger vehicle manufacturer, Lifan Industry Co.
China Youngman Automobile Group, SAIC Tangshan Bus, Lifan Group, Shanghai Sunwin Bus, Nanjing Special Auto Manufacturing and Chongqing Hengtong Bus were also cited by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for producing and selling vehicles with batteries that had lower power capacity than advertised.
