Horse Brand Tire Suspended by Kumho Incident Implicating 4 3C Certifications

After Kumho Tire's illegal use of a large quantity of “back-grade rubber” was exposed, it not only affected the entire vehicle sales of some car companies, but also involved other tire companies.

"First Financial Daily" reporter yesterday from the National Certification and Accreditation Regulatory Commission official website "CCC product certification public service platform" query, horse brand tire trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the horse brand tires") 4 3C The certificate has been suspended. The four 3C certifications are the Meridian 55 series, 60 series, 65 series and 70 series, involving a total of 14 models.

It is interesting to note that 4 of the 3C licenses of the branded tires that were suspended have clearly stated in the record that the company is a manufacturer and the manufacturer is Kumho Tire (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Kumho” Tianjin factory").

Horse Brand Tire was involved in the German Wells brand tires as an internationally renowned tire manufacturer, mainly supporting high-end vehicles. It currently has a production base in Anhui, and its annual production capacity is expected to be 4 million tires, but it has not yet begun sales in the country.

Regarding why the 4 3C certifications were suddenly suspended, a woman in the company's tire public relations department reported to the reporter that the company had never had any cooperation with Kumho Tire. All the company’s products are currently imported tires, and The production base in Anhui has not started to sell tire products.

When the reporter hoped that the woman learned to the relevant department of the company why the 4 3C certifications were halted, she refused the reporter's request and said that she “cannot do it in the workflow”.

The reporter learned from the China Quality Certification Center that the batch of 3C certificates for the halted horse brand tyres was obtained on January 11 of this year. In addition, all these certificates were actually halted on March 16th (that is, CCTV's exposure to the Kumho Tianjin factory's “back-grade” incident). The direct reason for being suspended is that there are quality problems with the "315" exposure product and it is for business reasons.

The reporter learned from informed sources that Kumho Tire and Ma Tire Tire actually had an intention of cooperation. The two sides agreed that they would directly produce horse brand tires through the Kumho Tianjin plant, but what kind of brand was not confirmed. But later, the horse brand expects the company's production capacity at the Anhui base to increase substantially, so the company has temporarily shelved the project.

Although the two parties did not reach a cooperation, Kumho still applied for 4 3C certificates for the horse tyres. A number of tire industry insiders said that if a tire company wants to commission other companies to produce, it can first get the sample directly to the 3C certification unit for certification, and does not need to produce a large number of spot products, so the applicant will appear "Lake" and the manufacturer's "3C certification" for "Tennis Tire". Since Kumho Tire's “back-glue” incident was exposed, the certificates for the “horse-brand tires” were also suspended.

A tire industry insider said that if the horse brand's future production capacity in Anhui base is not enough, and continue to follow the agreement reached with the Kumho Tianjin plant, then there may be the case that the quality of the brand tires can not be guaranteed.

Jinhu Nanjing Factory 3C certification shows "effective"

Yesterday, it was reported that it was unable to find the 3C certification of Kumho Tire’s Nanjing factory, but the reporter found out from the “CCC product certification public service platform” that there were a total of 40 3C certificates for the Nanjing, Changchun, and Tianjin factories of Kumho Tires. Including light-duty trucks, mid-size/heavy-duty general cross-section tires, car radial tires, temporary spare tires, etc. A total of nine 3C certifications concerning Tianjin company were halted, and 21 3C certifications at the Nanjing plant showed "effective". In addition, the Changchun factory's products also held 3C certification.

The reporter continued to check the certification of Kumho Tyre on the official website of the China Quality Certification Center and found that its data is consistent with the “CCC Product Certification Public Service Platform”.

China Quality Certification Center service personnel told this reporter that if a product does not have or is suspended 3C certification, the product will not be able to reproduce. A person from the Shanghai industrial and commercial department told the reporter that if it cannot produce, the product cannot be sold to the outside world. At present, as the 3C certification of the Kumho Tianjin plant is suspended, many regions in China will no longer allow auto and tire dealers to continue to sell tires from the plant.