Source: Economic Daily - China Economic Network
Mr. Jin, the owner of the Beijing DS4, said: "In use, I feel that this 'pit' is still quite large, there are too few outlets, and maintenance is very inconvenient. Because the import is small and niche, once it took more than three weeks to wait for accessories. ”
A DS5LS owner in Guangxi complained in the forum: "At that time, lard was blinded, for the niche, chose this brand, and opened a nightmare journey during maintenance."
On the occasion of "3·15" this year, the Economic Daily -- China Economic Network Automobile Channel launched the "Consumer Voice" feature, focusing on the maintenance experience of discontinued (or almost discontinued) brands and models, in order to reflect the dilemma of the owner's fruitless maintenance and no door to complaints, and to remind consumers: Unlike ordinary FMCG, cars are high-value, low-frequency bulk consumers, and their product quality and use cycle are not only related to the maintenance costs in the later stage, but also related to the safety of consumers' personal and family life and property. Therefore, what kind of car can be bought, what kind of car can not be bought, everyone still "long snack bar"!
"When I replaced the High 6 (the sixth generation golf) and bought a DS4, I have always been a 'face value control', and the DS design is still quite distinctive." Mr. Jin, who lives near Xueyuan Road in Beijing, said, "But later, during use, I felt that this 'pit' was still quite large, there were too few outlets, and maintenance was very inconvenient." Because the import is small and niche, once it took more than three weeks to wait for accessories. ”
According to Mr. Jin, the DS4 has only been driven for less than three years, and because of personal reasons going abroad, the car was left to a friend, who immediately "changed cars". "As far as I know, there are almost no DS 4S stores in Beijing at present, and maintenance can be done in some Peugeot Citroen stores. At that time, the purchase of a car 'full landing' was close to 300,000 yuan, and when the car was sold, it was less than 150,000 yuan, and the discount was particularly large. Mr. Kim said.
Economic Daily - China Economic Network reporter learned during the visit: DS brand currently has only one store in Beijing, located in the Xianglong Borui Automobile Park near the North Fifth Ring Road, and the DS store is currently connected with the neighboring Peugeot brand store. According to the sales staff in the store: the annual sales volume is about 30 vehicles, "DS this brand is too niche, Beijing is a store, there are only 14 dealers in the country." According to the data, in 2020, the cumulative sales of terminals of the DS brand in the Chinese market were 425 vehicles, down 79.9% year-on-year.
The problems reported by Mr. Kim are not isolated cases. In the name of "luxury", the DS brand entered the Chinese market around 2011, first launched DS3 and DS4 in the form of imported cars, and then successively produced a number of models, including DS5LS and other products specifically for the Chinese market. However, from the perspective of the DS brand's operation in China for ten years, problems such as low product cost performance, old power configuration, lack of after-sales service in outlets cannot keep up, and low residual value of second-hand cars have emerged in an endless stream.
A DS car owner in Guangxi complained in the forum: "At that time, lard was blinded, for the niche, chose this brand, and opened a nightmare journey when maintaining." It is understood that the owner of the car purchased a DS5LS in Guangxi Nanning Henghuateng Automobile Sales Service Co., Ltd., "after the 4S store closed for rectification, it no longer sells DS, but sells Alfa Romeo, but the DS warranty is still in the store, and the store is closed again and has not reopened so far." ”
Since then, the owner of the car and 400 telephone consultation, learned that has been adjusted to the next door Guangxi Hengjun Automobile Sales Service Co., Ltd. Ford 4S shop maintenance, but due to unfamiliar business, the company previously released the "high-pressure oil pump extended warranty service" is not understood, and the owner of the maintenance project whether to pay for many disputes, taking up to one and a half months (early September 2019 to mid-to-late October 2019).
The owner sighed, "During the maintenance period, the 4S store after-sales staff did not consider the customer at all, and the 4S after-sales staff did not understand the service policy of the DS brand, the business ability was poor, the attitude was bad", "such after-sales behavior, no wonder DS is developing worse and worse in China."
This incident continued to ferment in the group of DS owners of a domestic automobile forum, becoming a popular post of "pinning", and many netizens also expressed the same views or experiences. Netizen A message said: A brand after-sales, do not know what services their own enterprises have, the attitude is still so bad, really can not understand! Netizen B message emphasized: let customers to tell them what service after the sale, this thing itself is strange, feel that DS does not pay much attention to the Chinese market. Netizen C message said: Henan side of the DS users to Citroen, (no longer go to the 4S store) are outside to find the original 4S shop master repair.
In addition to the above typical cases, DS has also concentrated on a lot of problems in the models sold, the Economic Daily - China Economic Network reporter according to the car quality network complaint platform statistics: from July 25, 2020 to March 1, 2021 issued in the audited complaint information, DS brand involved 30 cases, product problems are concentrated in the "engine burning oil", "vehicle (and sunroof switch) abnormal sound", "cooling system failure", and accessories disputes.
A similar situation has been presented in many domestic automotive forums. A forum network named "qsaem" posted: the car from last year to now found that the engine abnormal sound, overtaking the accelerator, or uphill when stepping on the accelerator when the bell sound, with the depth of the throttle will change. I suspected that the chain was loose, changed the chain, cylinder head, engine bracket, but the problem has not been solved, but also hope to guide, this problem is too annoying.
The forum network name "Rider yw21992" posted: Imported DS5 annoying various abnormal noises, the front door runs up and creaks, flat road sounds, vehicles are aggravated when they bend and twist. There is also the front chassis running pothole pavement "clucking", like a stone rolling in it, the sound of impact, check that the chassis is connected without gaps.
So far, we have not seen the problem solving reply given by these netizens, as the DS brand is becoming increasingly marginalized in the domestic market, and even facing the risk of "delisting", presumably these DS owners will encounter more difficulties and challenges in after-sales maintenance. In the face of market dilemma, PSA Group has repeatedly emphasized that "absolutely and absolutely will not give up the Chinese market", DS's joint venture in China has been included in Baoneng's pocket after completing the listing and sale of equity, and it remains to be seen whether the "receiver" can revive the DS brand. But at the same time as the revival of the DS brand, can existing owners stop worrying about using their cars? (Economic Daily-China Economic Network reporter Huang Chunmian)
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