FRANKFURT (Reuters) - U.S.-German carmaker DaimlerChrysler says it is recalling 1.3 million Mercedes cars as it tries to fix quality woes that are riddling its German luxury car division.
Mercedes will recall the cars in several model ranges worldwide to fix problems with alternators and batteries, which do not affect the cars' safety, according to the supplier, car-parts maker Robert Bosch.
Mercedes chief Eckhard Cordes, who said earlier this year that his drive to resolve the quality problems would hit this year's earnings, said the cars Mercedes makes now are of high quality and that the recall addressed legacy problems.
"We are now producing the best product quality ever and our aim is to ensure that those vehicles in the hands of customers which are the cause of complaints achieve a standard of quality that reflects our highest expectations," Cordes said in a statement on Thursday.
DaimlerChrysler declined to say how much the recall would cost.
Mercedes said it would check and if necessary replace the voltage regulator in the alternator on vehicles with six- and eight-cylinder petrol engines built between June 2001 and November 2004 in the recall.
The carmaker will install new battery-control software on E-class and CLS-class models made from January 2002 to January 2005. In addition, it will update the braking system on current E-class, SL-class and CLS-class models, made since June 2001.