According to the data released by the China Consumer Association, the number of complaints about automobiles and parts in 2021 reached 41624, an increase of 19.28% year-on-year, accounting for 8.48% of the complaints about commodities, ranking third in the list. Among them, consumer disputes and complaints caused by car purchase contracts, product quality, after-sales service and other issues have become the focus.
The annual "3·15" is coming, and related complaints in the automotive field have once again attracted the attention of the industry circle. With the continuous enhancement of consumers' awareness of rights protection, in the face of automotive product defects, their rights protection means are more rational, and the complaint needs are clearer, or they choose to complain collectively. What kind of strategy enterprises should adopt in the face of collective complaints may directly affect the future development of enterprises. So, let's take a look at the past year, what are the complaints and recall hotspots about the quality of the car.
The issue of engine systems and electronics and electrical appliances remains the focus
According to the information released by the State Administration for Market Supervision, there were as many as 232 automotive-related recall announcements in 2021, involving 8.736 million vehicles, and the two figures increased by 16.6% and 28.8% respectively over 2020. From the perspective of the assembly involved in the defects, the engine system and electronic appliances are the main defect generating components, accounting for 84.3% of the recalled amount.
As we all know, the engine and gearbox are one of the core components of the car, and once there is a problem, it will give people the impression that the quality of the product is not up to standard, and damage the influence of the brand. Moreover, as a core component, the engine system has a huge maintenance cost, which will directly affect the safety of consumers' cars.
In recent years, the competition between car companies has become more and more fierce, products need to be constantly updated and iterated, and the reason why car companies recall may be loopholes in design, manufacturing, assembly and other links. For engine systems, there are three main reasons for the recall. First, the parts provided by the supplier do not match the design parameters; second, the durability and strength of the parts do not meet the test requirements, and the parts that meet the conditions need to be replaced; the third is the design defects themselves, due to the lack of comprehensive data, the engine oil increases, ECU control abnormalities and other issues will occasionally occur. Of the three problems, the first two can be solved through recall, while the design defects of the engine itself have problems and may need to replace the engine to improve, and most of the other solutions are to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
In the top ten of the 2021 domestic passenger car recall list, there are four German brands on the list, and two independent brands are on the list, followed by Japanese, American and Korean brands. Contrary to consumer stereotypes, Ashkenazi models, which have always been considered well-made, have become the most recalled models in 2021.
With the development of intelligence and networking, more and more car companies are working the car machine system, but due to the increase in demand and the multi-layer iteration of technology, the problems of communication module software design have gradually increased, and most of the problems can be solved through OTA upgrades. However, if there are electronic and electrical problems that affect driving safety, such as the failure of functions such as auxiliary driving systems and active braking, this is an irresponsible performance of car companies in the eyes of Brother Reel. Features can be iteratively upgraded, but security issues can't be played.
Emissions recalls cannot be ignored
On July 1, 2021, the Regulations on the Administration of Vehicle Emission Recalls were officially implemented, strengthening supervision of key emission parts such as crankcase forced ventilation devices, reducing agent reservoirs, and three-way catalytic reactors for some models.
Emission standards are becoming increasingly stringent, and some car companies may "manipulate" the emission systems of products in order to launch products that meet emission standards. Car companies are also becoming aware of this problem, and as of December 31, 2021, a total of 1.439 million vehicles have been recalled for emission hazards.
In the future, we will increase the recall supervision of motor vehicle emissions, and at the same time focus on new energy intelligent networked vehicles, commercial vehicles, etc., and will also promote product safety regulatory innovation, strengthen the recall supervision of automotive OTA technology, and launch a pilot sandbox supervision system. The so-called "sandbox supervision system" is to take inclusive and prudent regulatory measures for enterprises within the scope, and to prevent the problem from spreading outside the scope, and the whole process is subject to supervision, so as to ensure the safety of testing. This means that the automotive products we buy in the future are basically in line with emission regulations.
Is the quality of new energy vehicles worrying?
In addition to this, there is one piece of data that is also worth paying attention to. Among the 232 car incidents recalled last year, a total of 59 involved new energy vehicles, with a total of 830,000 vehicles involved, accounting for 9.5% of the total recalls, and the number of recalls and recalls increased by 31.1% and 75.9% compared with 2020. Does such a "terrible" growth trend indicate that the quality of new energy vehicles is worrying?
It should be known that the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in 2021 are 3.521 million units, which has developed well compared with the past few years, and the ownership itself is positively correlated with the recall. However, new energy vehicles are gradually accepted by consumers, but the "three electricity" technology is still in its infancy. It is understood that in the new energy vehicle defect clue report received in 2021, 52.5% of the defect clues originated from power battery, motor and electronic control system problems.
In addition, the fire of new energy vehicles is mostly due to the "three electricity" system, especially the most widely used lithium battery in new energy vehicles, due to its lively nature, when the power battery occurs internal or external short circuit, the battery releases a lot of heat in a short period of time. Coupled with the chemistry of the battery itself, it is difficult for new energy vehicles to be extinguished after a fire.
Now many car companies use corresponding measures to ensure the safety of new energy vehicles, such as bydir launched by BYD is not afraid of "needle prick test" blade battery, GAC Aean's "magazine battery", etc. With the introduction of safer power batteries, consumers are naturally more assured of new energy vehicles.
Enterprise errors are actually difficult to avoid, consumers do not want to buy their own products have problems, but once there is a problem, consumers pay more attention to the attitude of the enterprise to deal with the problem. If companies just use a simple reason to prevaricate the past, or play "word games", they will inevitably be spurned by consumers. The compensation is compensated, the recall is recalled, and the interests of users can be effectively protected to minimize the negative impact of car companies.