Quality problemsservice problems False publicity Car consumption pits you have stepped on which

Quality issuesService issues False claims were not delivered on time

These car consumption pits, which ones have you stepped on?

□ Zhang Wei, a reporter of this newspaper

Quality issues, service issues, false publicity and on-time delivery are the four main problems plaguing automotive consumers.

Recently, the Beijing Sunshine Consumption Big Data Research Institute, the Consumer Protection Law Research Center of the University of International Business and Economics, and the Consumer Network jointly released the "Research Report on Public Opinion on Domestic Automobile Consumption Rights Protection (2021)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), which reached the above conclusions by collecting data analysis and research on public opinion on automobile consumption rights protection in 2021.

Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, suggested that supervision and punishment should be further intensified, and relevant departments should strengthen the supervision of prominent problems reflected by consumers in the field of automobile sales, such as disguised mark-ups, hidden charges, compulsory tying, false publicity, and vehicle safety, and take effective measures to ensure market order and crack down on illegal acts; guide and standardize the development of the new energy vehicle industry, promote the continuous improvement of battery technology and supporting facilities, regularly carry out safety hazard investigations, and better protect consumer rights and interests.

Car sales continue to rise

Consumer complaints have increased

According to the statistics of the All-China Federation of Passenger Vehicles, the retail sales of the domestic passenger car market in 2021 were 20.486 million units, an increase of 4.5% year-on-year; the more prominent is the retail sales of the new energy market of 2.989 million units, an increase of 169.1% year-on-year. As car sales continue to rise, car ownership has increased significantly.

In addition, according to the data released by the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security at the end of 2021, the number of motor vehicles in China reached 393 million (more than 300 million cars) and 479 million drivers; more than 30 million newly registered motor vehicles and more than 20 million newly licensed drivers every year, ranking first in the world in terms of total and increment.

This was followed by a large number of complaints related to automobile consumption, of which transmissions, tires, and false publicity problems were commonplace; smart chips, mileage, and failure to deliver cars on time became new problems.

On May 13, 2021, the Gansu Provincial Consumers Association received a complaint from Consumer Ms. Fu that a car she purchased in September 2019 had a shaky body and a rapid slowdown. After investigation, the consumer complaint was confirmed. The operator explained that the situation of body shaking and speed reduction was due to the high pressure in the cylinder and the rupture of the valve caused by carbon deposition, and it took repair and remedial measures in a timely manner in accordance with the regulations, but according to the "Provisions on the Responsibility for Repair, Replacement and Return of Household Automobile Products" implemented in 2013, the car has not yet met the requirements for replacement. After repeated mediation by the Gansu Provincial Consumer Association, the operator finally bid 150,000 yuan to buy back the car.

This is a complaint about fuel vehicles, and complaints about new energy vehicles are not uncommon. The China Consumers Association announced the analysis of the complaints accepted by the National Consumer Association in 2021, and released some typical cases and solution suggestions at the same time. Among them, "new energy vehicles are difficult to prove and difficult to protect rights" is one of the typical cases published by the China Consumer Association.

In July 2021, the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Committee of Lucheng District, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, received a complaint from Consumer Ms. Song that her electric vehicle spontaneously combusted while charging, and the consumer believed that the electric vehicle sold by the 4S store had quality problems and demanded compensation. After mediation by the Lucheng District Consumer Protection Commission, the two sides reached an agreement that the 4S store refunded 96,800 yuan of car purchase money, subsidized 20,000 yuan for burned items in the car, gave 16,000 yuan of lost work subsidies and 30,000 yuan of compensation for mental damage, a total of 162,800 yuan.

Quality issues are the most prominent

The battery of the new energy vehicle is falsely marked

The "Report" pointed out that in the public opinion information on automobile consumption rights protection in 2021, the quality problems involved accounted for 90.48%, false publicity accounted for 5.47%, service problems accounted for 3.39%, and failure to deliver on time accounted for 0.66%. Among them, the quality problem is the most prominent, ranking first, followed by false publicity. Among the quality problems, the more prominent problems reflected are brake system problems, body accessories and electrical problems, transmission problems and engine problems, the proportion of brake system problems is as high as 44.9%, and other problems account for more than 10%.

The consumer rights protection public opinion of new energy vehicles is higher than that of fuel vehicles. According to the report, there are 128,000 consumer rights protection public opinion data related to "new energy vehicles" and 52,000 public opinion data on "fuel vehicles".

According to the report, among the domestic brands of new energy vehicles, the most reflected problems are quality problems, accounting for 54.75%; followed by false publicity, accounting for 32.26%; service problems and untimely delivery problems account for 7.4% and 5.59% respectively. Among the quality problems, the brake problem accounted for 32.26%, followed by the body accessories and electrical appliance problems, accounting for 13.46%, the battery problem accounted for 3.84%, and the rest accounted for less than 3%.

The problems reflected in the public opinion on the rights protection of the major brands of fuel vehicles involve quality problems, false publicity, service problems and failure to deliver on time. Among them, the quality problems are the most, accounting for 90.11%, followed by service problems and false publicity, accounting for 4.89% and 4.83% respectively, and the proportion of untimely delivery is the lowest. Among the quality problems, the transmission problem, the body accessories and electrical problems, and the engine problem are the main aspects, accounting for more than 25%.

In addition, the disguised charges, non-solving problems, poor service attitudes, contract problems, and personnel and technical problems in service problems were evenly distributed, accounting for 0.53%, 1.49%, 1.48%, 0.71% and 0.67% respectively.

On the whole, the quality problem has the most public opinion. Whether it is a traditional fuel vehicle or a new energy vehicle that has developed rapidly in recent years, the quality problem is still a prominent problem in the protection of automobile consumption rights. The problems of the engine gearbox, body accessories and electrical appliances of traditional fuel vehicles are still frequently faulty, becoming the main aspect of rights protection; new energy vehicles are affected by the Tesla brake failure incident in April 2021, and the public opinion related to the braking system of the new energy brand remains high, and the problems of body accessories and electrical appliances have also been reported many times.

There are also some problems that are also more frequent. For example, the problem of false propaganda is prominent. The "Report" shows that the battery standard represented by new energy vehicles in particular is unrealistic to promote high endurance, and there is deception and misleading behavior to consumers.

There are many after-sales service disputes. Automobile after-sales service has always been a hot issue for consumer complaints, and various disguised charges, shirking responsibility, poor service attitude, and untimely after-sales service have caused great trouble to consumers.

In addition, affected by the global shortage of chips, the delivery delay of the automobile market, especially new energy vehicles, occurs from time to time.

"These problems not only harm the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, but also affect the healthy development of the automotive industry, which should be paid enough attention." The Report states.

Industry norms are not mature enough

Increase regulatory penalties

Why are there so many public opinion problems on the protection of automobile consumer rights?

The "Report" believes that, first of all, some manufacturers one-sidedly pursue immediate interests, deliberately control costs, resulting in problems such as poor quality, affecting consumers' driving experience, and bringing safety risks to consumers' personal and property safety.

Secondly, automobiles are complex industrial products, and the quality problems of consumer complaints mainly focus on the engine, transmission, battery range, brake system and so on. These questions are highly professional and difficult to prove. For ordinary consumers, it is often difficult to prove and defend their rights.

Third, the industry specifications of some models, especially new energy vehicles, are not mature enough. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles are in the development stage, whether it is technical or industry standardization, they are not yet mature, the relevant policies are also in the process of gradual improvement, and some technical indicators and testing methods have not yet formed a consensus. Once a problem arises, it is difficult to obtain effective evidence and recognition. Therefore, it brings greater difficulties to consumer complaints and rights protection.

In addition, supervision and penalties need to be further strengthened. After nearly ten years of rapid development of the automobile market, the state has introduced a series of laws and regulations, has formed a relatively complete system of laws and regulations, on the whole, the legal system related to the automobile market is complete, the boundary is relatively clear, the key is that the supervision and punishment are not enough, resulting in some violations of laws and regulations or damage to the rights and interests of consumers have not been dealt with in a timely and effective manner, objectively condoning some dishonest and law-abiding business behavior.

It is worth noting that on January 1, 2022, the newly revised "Provisions on the Responsibility for Repair and Replacement of Household Automobile Products" was officially implemented. The responsibilities and obligations of relevant automobile manufacturers have been further clarified, and the protection of consumer rights and interests has been further strengthened.

"Relevant automobile manufacturers, especially new energy automobile manufacturers, need to operate in good faith and abide by the law, provide consumers with high-quality automotive products and high-quality auto services, consciously safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and promote the healthy development of the automobile consumer market." Chen Yinjiang said.

The "Report" proposes that automobile manufacturers should enhance their awareness of responsibility and safety. Auto products are related to the personal and property safety of consumers, manufacturers must attach great importance to the quality of automotive products, ensure that the production and sale of automotive products meet the requirements of ensuring personal and property safety, and effectively prompt consumers to precautions and safety risks. New energy vehicle manufacturers should truthfully inform consumers of the actual mileage, charging speed and influencing factors of the vehicle to avoid disputes in the later stage. Automobile sales companies should treat consumers with integrity, do not force bundle sales, do not do false publicity, honor their promises, and put an end to bullying the weak, deceiving and misleading, and charging illegally.

Chen Yinjiang suggested that the relevant departments strengthen the supervision of consumers' outstanding problems in the field of automobile sales, such as disguised price increases, hidden charges, compulsory tying, false publicity, and vehicle safety, and take effective measures to ensure market order and crack down on illegal acts; guide and standardize the development of the new energy vehicle industry, promote the continuous improvement of battery technology and supporting facilities, and regularly carry out safety hazard investigations to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

In addition, consumers should also raise their awareness of self-protection. "Consumers should pay attention to retaining relevant vouchers such as car purchase and maintenance, pay special attention to the verbal commitments of merchants on the refund of car purchase deposits, insurance deposits, etc., pay attention to retaining deposits or deposit receipts, record the oral commitments of merchants if necessary, and take the initiative to sign a paper deposit or deposit refund agreement." Actively learn the knowledge of automobile consumption, read the instructions for the use of the vehicle carefully, and understand the scope of the three packages and the warranty period of vulnerable spare parts in detail. Cultivate good driving habits, regular maintenance, only understand the car, in order to better protect the rights in the event of disputes. Chen Yinjiang said.

(Rule of Law Daily)