BMW recalls almost 700,000 cars in China over fire safety risk

BMW AG is recalling nearly 700,000 vehicles in China due to coolant pump defects, a fresh setback for the German carmaker that’s reeling from other vehicle faults.

BMW will recall 499,539 cars produced locally, and 188,371 imported vehicles from March 1, 2025, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement Friday. Faulty coolant pump plugs fitted to some models may lead to corrosion or rust, which could cause short circuits and in extreme cases fires, the agency said. Models affected include locally-made 3 Series and 5 Series vehicles, as well as several imported X Series SUVs. 

The recall follows a steep drop in deliveries in China, its biggest market by revenue. In the third quarter, shipments of BMW and Mini brand cars in China slumped by 30%, the sharpest drop in more than four years, the group said last week. 

In September, BMW issued a profit warning due to a global recall of 1.5 million cars related to defective braking systems supplied by Continental AG. Those faults are expected to cost the automaker nearly €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to fix. 

The fault was detected in August, and BMW alerted the Chinese authorities as it investigated, a spokesperson said in a statement. The relevant repairs should take around three hours, and vehicles in Europe aren’t affected, the spokesperson added.

BMW said in a separate statement on Saturday that the planned recall requires some “newly added components” and will start in March next year. The measures comply with national laws and regulations and have been approved by Chinese authorities, BMW said.