Text\Blue Cham
Recently, a car friend from Hebei "Lao Wang" complained to the "Car Industry" that the 2020 Audi A6L45 elite elegant model he started had many problems such as jittering and stalling, highway steering failure, etc., because the product had safety hazards, so it was hoped to return the car.
It said: "On July 28, 2020, the first time the driving was shaken off, the attempt was successfully ignited many times, the engine system was upgraded to the 4S shop, which was 4046 kilometers at the time, the same fault occurred for the second time on August 23, and the engine system upgrade was opened to the 4S shop, the same failure occurred for the third time on the morning of December 4, 2020, and the engine system upgrade was done, and the same problem appeared for the fourth time in the afternoon of the same day, and the maintenance plan was to polish the camshaft adjustment valve spool, The issue is temporarily resolved.
It was used until about 3 p.m. on January 11, 2022, when the steering system suddenly failed on the high speed, I was very scared, the steering wheel could not move, the help was gone, the car was almost destroyed, and the trailer was dragged to the 4S shop after testing, saying that it was necessary to replace the steering machine assembly. I refuse to repair, I think I have reached the standard of returning the car, one of the three guarantees of law is due to serious safety performance faults cumulative repair twice the fault has not been eliminated or there is a new serious safety performance fault can ask for return and replacement of the car. ”
According to the author's understanding, although the product does have problems, the owner has also clearly put forward the appeal, and the regulatory authorities have also intervened, but the current problem of the owner has not been solved, and it is still "struggling to protect the rights", and with the fermentation of the problem, it has also caused a certain negative impact on the reputation image and brand of FAW-Volkswagen Audi.
Coincidentally, in February this year, an Audi A6L 2021 55 TFSI quattro premium dynamic owner said: "The vehicle was purchased for less than a year, driving 17,700 kilometers of engine shortage and unable to drive, dragging to 4S maintenance for nearly a month did not solve the problem, do not return the car." And the 4S shop is still driving the vehicle at a high speed test for more than 100 kilometers in the absence of fire in the vehicle and the three cylinders are not working, and it is suspected that new damage has been caused to the car. At present, 4S asked to disassemble the engine for inspection, but I refused. New car dismantling the engine? This situation is really unreasonable! There are serious quality problems with this car. Complaints to the manufacturer, only the reply will communicate with the 4S store, there is no substantial progress. Consumer rights are not protected! ”
Complaint statistics from the car quality network show that Audi's "quality" seems to be losing ground. Taking the Audi A6L as an example, in addition to the problem of "heavy steering, shaking and stalling" reflected by the riders, the car also has large and small complaints such as engine shaking, engine abnormal noise, tire partial grinding, transmission failure lights, and water entry of the headlights.
In fact, because of product problems, Audi has carried out several recalls in 2021, of which A6L is the hardest hit area of the recall. In January this year, more than 450,000 Audi Q5Ls were recalled due to safety hazards, which once again aroused public concern about Audi quality.
Interestingly, Zhang Qiang, deputy general manager of FAW Audi's sales division, has publicly stated many times that he "adheres to the user-centric approach and works together to create the ultimate pleasant experience." "But at the level of execution and products, its slogan is still far from being truly landed." The reasons may be complicated, but in terms of the current terminal complaints and product sales performance, quality problems are becoming a constraint on Audi's high sales.
Obviously, while affecting the car experience of car owners, similar problems will also affect Audi's brand image and reputation, which is contrary to Zhang Qiang, deputy general manager of FAW's Audi sales division, who called Audi's goal of "adhering to user-centricity".
It is worth noting that the decline in quality reputation has also made the sales of Audi's models gradually decline. Sales data from January showed that the Audi A6L sold only more than 13,000 units a month, down 34.5% year-on-year, while its competitors BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class both sold more than 20,000 units per month, achieving year-on-year growth.
In addition, in addition to the Audi A6L, the sales of another audi's main sales model, the Q5L, also fell 2.8% year-on-year in January, not only lagging behind the Mercedes-Benz GLC and BMW X3, but also the downward trend is more worrying. According to this trend, in the competition of the BBA, Audi is not only hopeless, but may even be pulled farther and farther away by Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The problem is more than this, compared to Mercedes-Benz BMW's competitors at the same level, Audi's concessions in the terminal are also relatively large, and the long-term "price for volume" although it can temporarily win sales for Audi, but it has lost its image, reducing the brand premium ability For a luxury brand, it is tantamount to drinking and quenching thirst.
Write at the end:
The data shows that over the past 30 years, FAW-Volkswagen Audi has now accumulated sales of more than 7 million vehicles in China, but I think that for Zhang Qiang or FAW-Volkswagen Audi, the problem facing it at present is not simply to put forward a good strategic plan, but how to implement a beautiful plan into product quality and after-sales service.
(This article is originally produced by the editorial department of [Auto Industry] New Media, the author of this article is Lan Zhan, and the source should be indicated when reprinting)