BEIJING - The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) urged Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday to explain what was behind its recent recall.

Li Yuanping, a spokesperson for AQSIQ, asked Toyota to "make a full explanation and provide detailed technical descriptions" following its claim that vehicles that were sold on the Chinese market were not defective.

Toyota said on Wednesday that it would recall more than 1.7 million vehicles worldwide because of faulty parts, such as defective engines and fuel devices.

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The Japanese automaker said that the recall includes 1.277 million vehicles in Japan and a combined 411,000 vehicles in North America, Europe and other markets. The recall covers sedans such as the Crown and the Lexus.

"AQSIQ pays much attention to Toyota recalls globally." Li said.

He added that the AQSIQ summoned officials from Toyota China and asked the company to provide free repairs for defective cars in China.

Further, AQSIQ is asking its branches to scrutinize China's imports of Toyota's defective vehicles. Toyota has yet to respond.

"AQSIQ will make further investigations in response to Chinese consumers' complaints." Li added.