福特汽車和現代汽車兩公司周二稱，因兩公司在華合資企業生產的98559輛伊蘭特和索納塔轎車存有潛在故障，公司將對這批汽車進行返修。這是自2004年10月我國的《缺陷汽車產品召回管理規定》實施以來，國內最大規模的汽車召回行動。北京現代表示，本次召回范圍內的轎車，因產品燃油泵存在潛在故障，可能導致起動時點火開關非正常工作，極端情況下起動電機可能燒毀，故為相關車輛進行免費檢查，更換點火開關，以消除缺陷。

The joint ventures of Hyundai and Ford in China yesterday said that they would recall a total of more than 151,000 faulty vehicles. The joint ventures of Hyundai and Ford in China yesterday said that they would recall a total of more than 151,000 faulty vehicles.  Hyundai Motor Co's venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Corp said in a statement that it would start recalling 98,559 units of the Elantra compact sedan and the Sonata mid-sized sedan from October 26 due to ignition defects. The vehicles were made between October 1, 2004 and March 22, 2005. The company's move is the biggest single auto recall this year in the country, the world's third-biggest and fastest-growing vehicle market. Ford Motor Co's venture with Chang'an Motor Corp in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality said that it yesterday began to recall 52,838 Focus compact sedans manufactured between June 17, 2005 and July 30, 2006 because of potential fuel pump problems. The two companies' action bring the total number of vehicles recalled in China this year up to almost 280,000 units, according to figures from www.qiche365.org.cn, a website tracking automobile recalls under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Earlier this year, many other foreign automakers, such as Toyota, General Motors, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Renault, Mercedes Benz and Porsche, recalled defective vehicles . Automakers have been recalling more flawed vehicles after the government released the first auto recall regulations in October 2004. Earlier, some refused to recall faulty vehicles citing the absence of an auto recall system as an excuse. In developed nations, auto recalls are commonplace. But the current regulations in China do not go far enough, analysts said, adding that much stricter rules and even legislation are needed to force manufacturers to recall faulty vehicles. Currently, vehicle producers must recall defective vehicles or risk being put on a "blacklist" open to the public and fined a maximum of 30,000 yuan (US$3,790) if they are found to have tried to cover up problems. (Agencies)

Vocabulary:

Hyundai: 現代 ignition defects：點火系統出現故障 potential fuel pump problems：燃油泵存在潛在故障 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）