Hybrid car fires trigger calls for ‘stringent’ regulations

AMMAN — To address recent incidents of hybrid cars catching fire, Toyota Jordan has invited automobile agency representatives and authorities concerned with the used-car market for a press briefing.

The briefing also involved the official importers of Toyota and Hyundai, two of the country’s biggest hybrid car sellers.

Hassan Elayyan, the director general of Unity Trading, which is the official importer of Hyundai in Jordan, stressed the need to “control the trade of used imported cars to better ensure their quality, given that most hybrid cars involved in accidents were found to be recycled in the free zone without supervision”.

He called on citizens to consult authorised centres, familiarise themselves with standards for quality and maintenance, and then apply for a thorough inspection by the centre before buying a hybrid vehicle.

“As Jordanian car dealers, an integral part of our responsibility is to educate citizens about the cars and how to maintain them. This is an issue of people’s lives; it cannot be ignored,” Nadeem Haddad, the general director of Toyota Jordan, said at the press conference.

He expressed his condolences to the victims of two recent hybrid car accidents, saying that this is what prompted the company to organise the conference.

“When it comes to imported used cars, we cannot guarantee their quality or ensure that they are free of defects. We cannot even ensure that they were reassembled in the free zone under supervision,” said Elayyan.

He demanded “more stringent” government regulations on the entry of used cars, requiring official certificates from the country of origin specifying their technical competence and level of safety in addition to the close supervision of garages in the free zone to avoid faulty re-assembly.

Amjad Zabin, general manager of Carseer, a company that provides a “comprehensive report on vehicle history, from the time of its manufacture until the moment of purchase”, said that consumers should “ensure that the hybrid battery is warranted and available in Jordan before buying a used car”.

“This is the most common problem we face. The car might be in overall good condition, but then the buyer realises that its battery is not found in Jordan. This is devastating news for the consumer, as the hybrid’s battery is arguably its most important part,” he added.