Thousands of Prius cars recalled in China

Models pose with a Toyota Prius Hybrid car during an automobile exhibition in Qingdao city, East Chinas Shandong province, 14 Sept 2012. [Photo / dfic.cn]?

BEIJING - SFTM Changchun Fengyue Co, a 50-50 joint venture between Chinese carmaker FAW and Japan's Toyota, will recall 3,210 Prius cars in China due to problems in the control software.

The recall will affect vehicles manufactured between Dec 20, 2011 and Jan 28, 2014, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in an online statement.

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In extreme cases, flaws in the control program would make the cars unable to function and carry safety risks, the statement said.

The company will upgrade the software for free.

The recall is part of Toyota's global recall of 1.9 million Prius cars for such problems.

Toyota and its Chinese joint ventures sold a total of 85,600 motor vehicles in China in January, an 18 percent rise year on year.

The company expects its full-year sales in the world's largest auto market to exceed 1.1 million units in 2014, up around 20 percent from 917,500 units in 2013.

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