(Yicai Global) July 12 -- Beiqi New Energy Automotive will recall 1,389 of its Weiwang 407EV series electric vans from July 13 because of battery pack safety hazards.

Due to a supplier's production control problem, the battery pack may overheat when the vehicle is running, the Changzhou, Jiangsu province-based company said yesterday via the website of the State Administration for Markets Regulation. This may lead the battery pack to overheat, causing fires in extreme cases.

Production of the Weiwang 407EV series has been suspended since December. Beiqi New Energy said it will test recalled vehicles and replace their battery packs for free.

Since the start of this year, there have been many incidents of Weiwang 407EVs catching fire while being charged in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, with three in March alone. Following the incidents, the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission issued a document on March 17 asking businesses and individuals to immediately stop using the vans. It also asked firms to stop providing charging services for the model.

The automaker issued a detailed report after two months of investigation and analysis, the Shenzhen DRC stated on May 10. "The investigation confirmed that the battery supplier had allocated some battery packs with quality risks to Weiwang 407EVs, resulting in frequent thermal runaway incidents," it said.

The vans were suspended from operation in March after debuting just four months ago at per vehicle price of CNY109,800 (USD15,964). The battery supplier is Harbin Coslight Power.