A total of 17,590 Aston Martin cars have been recalled after the company found that a supplier used a counterfeit plastic material. All left-hand drive models built since November 2007 and right hand-drive models built since May 2012 are part of this recall.
The company, however, says, that the Vanquish has not been affected. Aston Martin says that the cars are being recalled from model years 2008 through 2014 because the accelerator pedal arm may break, increasing the risk of a crash.
Aston Martin found that Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Limited, a Chinese subcontractor that molds the affected accelerator pedal arms, used counterfeit plastic material supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd of Dongguan.
Although the plastic part was labeled as being an official DuPont product, subsequent checks revealed it to be counterfeit. Aston Martin says that no accidents have been reported to date because of this defect and the company has already identified a UK-based supplier to replace the affected part.
The news comes at a time when Aston Martin sales have dipped. The year 2012 saw them selling approximately 3500 units which is lower when compared to 2011-10. It is also a setback for the British car manufacturer, as it readies to tie-up with AMG on the technology front. Armed with plans to sell close to 7000 units per year by 2016, the recall has affected Aston Martin for sure and we hope they get back on track soon.
