THE recent massive recall of Toyota vehicles has put quality control at the top of priorities for Chinese's domestic auto makers eager to improve sales at home and itching to sell models overseas.

On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued guidelines requiring Chinese car makers to step up efforts to improve vehicle quality and enhance driving safety.

The top industry watchdog accused some auto companies of focusing too much on expansion at the expense of technology improvements during the industry's rapid development. Potential risks were also flagged because too much attention was being paid to cost control instead of quality control.

"As a pillar industry, the auto sector still falls short of core technologies and strong innovation capability and needs improvement in overall management," the ministry said.

Safety paramount

Vehicle quality issues have moved to the fore after defective floor mats, sticky brake pedals and steering defects prompted Toyota to recall more than 8 million vehicles worldwide and suspend sales of popular models in the United States.

Quality and safety issues are paramount for the domestic auto industry as it sets its sights on expansion overseas.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda blamed the massive recall by the world's largest car maker on faster-than-expected growth that blurred safety issues.

If anything, China's domestic car makers have been on an even more aggressive trajectory.

China last year overtook the US as the world's biggest auto market, prompting car makers to expand capacity and embrace global ambitions.

Geely Holdings Group, Chery Automobile Co, BYD Automobile and other domestic manufacturers are eying exports as an avenue to higher profitability. Their aim is to sell cars in the US and Europe after tapping Eastern European and Southeast Asian markets.

However, most of these companies are young and are experiencing rapid growth even before they have the management systems in place to handle it. Many have failed to appreciate fully the higher safety standards required to sell cars in mature markets.

Brilliance's Zunchi sedan was given only a two-star rating in front-end crash tests in the Europe Union, triggering doubts about the auto maker's plans to sell its cars in the German market.

The Landwind sport utility vehicle made by Jiangling Auto, which aims to be the first Chinese vehicle to tap the EU market, also delayed its scheduled launch there because of poor results in crash tests undertaken by an independent German institution.

Compulsory recalls

The quality concerns highlight a lack of strong legislation in China regarding vehicle recalls and safety supervision systems.

"Most recalls at Chinese car makers are compulsory recalls," said Shao Feng, editor-in-chief of auto magazine That's Car.

"Car makers are very conservative about recalls on concern about the additional costs," he said. "As most Chinese car makers are young players seeking to win consumers' trust, they worry that recalls will damage their brand image." Most car makers in China prefer to deal with defects through after-sale service instead of recalls.

China adopted its first regulations on the recall of defective vehicles in 2004. There are reports that tougher laws on the recall of defective products, including vehicles, are under consideration.

Over the past five years, 212 recalls involving 3.2 million vehicles have occurred under the auspices of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Most of the vehicles were produced by joint ventures between domestic and global car makers, with few involving domestic companies alone.

Last year about 1.4 million defective vehicles were recalled, accounting for less than 2 percent of total vehicles in China. That means less than two vehicles were recalled for every 100 cars on the road, a ratio considerably lower than the 10 percent figure in the US.

Chinese consumers have complained that penalties for car makers with flawed vehicles are too lenient. The highest fine an auto manufacturer faces is 30,000 yuan (US$4,398).

Car owners seeking compensation are usually confronted with imposing requirements to provide evidence and suffer endless red tape to file a claim. And if a Chinese-made vehicle is subject to a global recall, Chinese car owners normally receive a lot less compensation than equivalent owners overseas.

Technology upgrades

In recent years, Chinese car makers have been looking at overseas mergers and acquisitions to gain access to advanced technologies and lift vehicle quality.

Beijing Automobile Industry Corp has acquired assembly plants of Saab 93 and Saab 95 vehicles for developing its own-brand cars. Geely Auto bought into an Australian transmission company.

Domestic car makers have also poured huge sums into establishing engineering institutes to help them upgrade their technologies.

"In the future, Chinese car makers will definitely pay more attention to vehicle quality amid stricter government legislation," said independent auto analyst Zhong Shi.

"Even more importantly, heated market competition will force car makers to enhance product quality in order to gain creditability and customer trust," he added. "Chinese auto buyers rely heavily on word-of-mouth when buying a car, so vehicle quality becomes a core concern."

He said China should create an independent vehicle inspection institution to issue safety information and research results to consumers.

Ferrari puts a lid on it

The two-door, hard-top convertible Ferrari California represents a number of firsts in Ferrari's iconic granturismo portfolio. It's a grand touring sports car that is powered by a front-mid mounted 4.3-liter V8 engine. With a direct injection system and 7-speed dual clutch transmission, the California claims to consume only 13.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers with C02 emissions of 305.6g/km, 15 percent less than the Ferrari F430.

Besides the fun of the folding metal roof, also don't forget its driving dynamics: the California has a top speed of 310 kph and it can accelerate from zero to 100 kph in under 4 seconds.

The car revives the "California" name which was used for the late-1950s Ferrari 250 GT.

Price: from 3.48 million yuan (US$509,809)

Porsche improves performance

The new Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe and 911 Turbo Cabriolet are all about improved performance accompanied by lower fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The new 911 Turbo models feature an enhanced turbo-charged 3.8-liter engine with direct fuel injection and variable turbine geometry, allowing this Porsche to produce 500bhp when fitted with the 7-speed double-clutch transmission. It accelerates to 100kph in only 3.4 seconds and the top speed, in turn, is 312kph. Other features include Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) and new 19-inch Porsche Turbo II wheels fitted as standard. The two models were debuted in China at an auto show in Guangzhou in November 2009.

Price: 2.33 million yuan (US$341,642) and 2.47 million yuan at Porsche Center Shanghai