(Beijing) Some Datang EVs made by Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD have had their front and rear wheel rims fitted the wrong way round, renewing public concern over vehicle safety risks. BYD said the problem stemmed from a supplier’s code entry error and that the affected vehicles posed no driving safety risk.
According to reports by Bloomberg, The Paper and Zhengzai News, several Datang EV owners said on social media that their vehicles’ front and rear wheel rims had been fitted the wrong way round. They said they had received no notification from the manufacturer and discovered the problem only when they took their cars to authorised dealerships for checks.
The affected vehicles are mainly the 2026 Datang EV all-electric rear-wheel-drive variant with a range of 950 kilometres. Under the original factory specifications, the front wheels should have 8J rims fitted with 255-millimetre-wide tyres, while the rear wheels should have 9J rims fitted with 275-millimetre-wide tyres. However, some vehicles had the wider rims fitted at the front and the narrower rims at the rear, leaving the tyres and rims mismatched.
As the two types of rim look similar, owners have difficulty telling them apart by sight alone. Some owners worry that the incorrect fitting could cause excessive tyre wear and compromise driving safety.
In a statement on Wednesday (11 November), BYD said a code entry error by its wheel rim assembly supplier, Hubei Boyu Shiye Co Ltd, had led to the incorrect fitting on some vehicles. The company has begun checks and corrected the codes, while the supplier has introduced a visual error-proofing system on its production line to prevent a recurrence.
The statement said dedicated testing had found that the affected vehicles’ handling was unaffected and that they posed no driving safety risk. The company will invite affected owners to local service outlets for free checks and refitting of the rims, and provide courtesy cars or compensation for transport costs. The full-vehicle warranty period for cars with incorrectly fitted rims will restart from Wednesday.
BYD also pledged to conduct a comprehensive review and continue working with the supplier on corrective measures, but did not disclose the number of vehicles or batches affected.
The Datang is the flagship full-size SUV in BYD’s Dynasty series, with prices starting at 239,900 yuan (S$46,113). It is a key model in the company’s push into higher-priced market segments. Launched in July this year, it recorded sales of about 14,000 vehicles in October.
Last month, Maextro, a car brand jointly developed by Chinese technology giant Huawei and JAC Motors, also became embroiled in a safety controversy over a fractured brake pedal bracket. Chinese authorities subsequently announced the formation of a joint investigation team and held talks with more than 30 carmakers, calling for stronger oversight of innovative vehicle design and testing and validation during research and development.
