Shanghai GM Cruze trapped radiation over the storm

As the best-selling model of GM’s Chevrolet brand, Cruze is getting involved in a turmoil of radiation.

A few days ago, Mr. Guo, a Guangzhou Cruze owner, detected serious electromagnetic radiation in the car. Through a home electromagnetic radiation tester borrowed from a friend, Mr. Guo found that the radiation of the main and co-pilots reached 4 μT (micro-Tesla) while the engine was operating at idle speed, and the radiation was up to 15 μT during driving, and the lower part of the gear lever was left. The side (main driving position) is more than 19μT. The lower the position is, the stronger the radiation is, and the lower side has exceeded 20μT.

Subsequently, Mr. Guo found a number of Cruze owners to test the car and the results were comparable to those in his own car. Mr. Guo lodged a complaint with Shanghai GM with another car owner. The answer was that at present, he has not received similar complaints and has not found any similar problems. He asked Mr. Guo to drive the car to the 4S shop for testing. The answer given by the 4S store is that a professional testing agency must issue a test report to prove that the radiation is indeed exceeding the standard before it can handle the matter.

Yesterday, relevant persons from Shanghai GM told reporters that Shanghai GM has commissioned third-party authoritative testing organizations to conduct inspections. The test results will be formally announced on the 14th. At that time, Shanghai GM will announce it in a timely manner. In addition, the above-mentioned sources also told reporters that Shanghai GM has confidence in the electromagnetic radiation inside the Cruze car.

At present, the UK National Radiation Protection Commission's official website has set the dangerous value at 0.4μT. It is internationally recognized that the magnetic field strength in children's living environment should not exceed this standard. Sweden is the first to think that the intensity is above 0.2μT (2mG) and it will be harmful to the human body. Up to now, China has no relevant standards for electromagnetic radiation in automobile vehicles.

Jia Xinguang, an observer of the automotive industry, said that this type of testing also requires an authoritative organization to conduct inspections. Before the test results come out, it is not good to comment on it.

A number of industry insiders also said that for Shanghai GM, if the storm is not properly handled, it will directly affect the sales of Cruze in the future, as well as Chevrolet brand image.

According to data provided by the Shanghai General Motors Corporation, in January this year, the Chevrolet brand achieved sales of 54,399 vehicles in China under the promotion of the two main models, Cruze and Neo Sail, of which Cruze sold 22,711 units. In 2011, sales of the Chevrolet brand in China increased by 9.4% year-on-year to reach the highest historical record of 595,068 cars. Cruze is still the best-selling model of the brand, with a total of 221,196 sold.

Although the Chevrolet brand has performed well in recent years and ranks among the top brands in terms of sales volume, it has not gained much in the mid-size car market where the market share is huge and profits are abundant.

In order to complete this shortfall, GM places great hopes on Mairibao, which will officially go public tomorrow. This model will be the first to be listed in China and will then land on the US and European markets. This is also the Chevrolet brand's first mid-to-high-end flagship model.