Recently, Mr. Chen, a dealer of Sichuan Mustang Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mustang Motor"), reported to Nandu reporters that Sichuan Mustang Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sichuan Mustang Motor"), the parent company of Mustang Motor, was poorly operated and the factory stopped production after being acquired by Reading Automobile, and when he negotiated with Mustang Automobile to withdraw from the network, he was told that a deposit of 50,000 yuan would be deducted due to non-compliance of store review.
On February 2, the head of sales of Mustang Motors responded to Nandu reporters that the move was in line with the company's business policy. The fuel vehicle production line has been discontinued, the company plans to transform into new energy vehicles, and is actively negotiating with dealers to withdraw from the network.
The Nandu reporter noted that from 2019 to 2023, Sichuan Automobile Mustang was enforced by the court 54 times for failing to perform its legal obligations on time, and the company's legal representative Xu Xiaoming received 38 consumption restriction orders between 2019 and 2021. Nandu previously reported that at the end of 2022, Reading Automobile, the major shareholder of Sichuan Automobile Mustang, was complained by many dealers about "collecting money and not delivering the car" for a long time, and was collectively protected by dealers.
The dealer claimed that the deposit was withheld for non-compliance in the store review
Recently, Mr. Chen, a Mustang dealer from Jiangsu, reported to Nandu reporters, "Since Reading Automobile entered the Sichuan Mustang in 2019, Mustang's internal personnel have changed frequently, management is chaotic, and product quality has deteriorated. At the beginning of 2022, due to the suspension of fuel vehicles at the Mustang plant, it will not be sent to dealers. "Mr. Chen decided to no longer act as an agent and asked for a refund of the store construction deposit, but was told that his deposit of 50,000 yuan could not be refunded due to non-compliance in the store review in the last two quarters of 2021.
It is understood that the store review refers to the review of whether the brand image store built by the dealer is operating normally and whether it meets the image standards, which is completed once a quarter. For dealers who cooperate in building image stores, Mustang Motors will give subsidies for car purchases, and the store supplement cycle will be 5 years.
Mr. Chen told Nandu reporters that in the last two quarters of 2021, he did neglect to submit store review materials, "In the past, regional managers were notified through WeChat or telephone, but since the second half of 2021, regional managers have changed frequently, and the docking work has been delayed." Regarding the DMS system and corporate email address mentioned in the contract for issuing notifications, Mr. Chen said that "I have never opened it, and no one has ever told me to look at it." In this regard, the person in charge of sales of Mustang Motors told Nandu reporters that Mr. Chen's deposit could not be returned due to non-compliance in store review, which was in line with the company's business policy.
It is understood that in September 2022, Mr. Chen took Mustang to court for unsuccessful bond negotiations. According to the civil judgment issued by the People's Court of Changle County, Shandong Province, the court held that Mr. Chen claimed that his company was still in operation in February 2022, and that Mustang Motors had in fact ceased production from 2022 and that its operation was abnormally paralyzed, but according to the evidence provided by Mr. Chen, it could not be proved that its stores met the store standards agreed in the contract between the two parties, nor could it prove that Mustang Motors affected its store operations due to business problems. The evidence of Mustang Motors was sufficient to prove that Mr. Chen was not in operation because his store had not been reviewed twice, and although Mr. Chen claimed that he had not received it, the DMS system of the sending system was part of the agreement between the parties, and Mr. Chen did not raise any objection after the system sent and received. In summary, Mr. Chen's request for the return of the security deposit is insufficient and does not support it.
After being acquired by Reading Automobile, the number of employees was sharply reduced, and the production of fuel vehicles was discontinued
One of the points of dispute between Mr. Chen and Mustang Motors in the contract dispute was when the production of Mustang Motors fuel vehicles would be discontinued. "The factory is all yellow, the car is not given to us, and we have to keep it in the image store, which is extremely unreasonable." Mr. Chen told the Nandu reporter.
On February 2, the Nandu reporter asked the head of sales of Mustang Motors to verify the time of the shutdown of the factory, and the person in charge said: "Production has long been stopped, and the fuel vehicle production line has been stopped around February 2022." On the same day, a former Mustang Motor regional manager who has left told Nandu reporters, "Basically, there will be no departures around March (2022)." At the end of 2021, the company was still producing the car, but production was limited because parts were not available. He also said that many dealers are looking for Mustang to defend their rights, demanding the return of the deposit and the balance on the account.
According to public information, Mustang Motor was established in 2010 and is 100% controlled by Sichuan Automobile Mustang. Founded in the late 80s of the 20th century, Sichuan Automobile Mustang has a perfect R & D, manufacturing, sales service system. In January 2019, Sichuan Automobile Mustang was acquired by low-speed electric vehicle company Reading Automobile, which was described by media reports at the time as a "snake swallowing elephant" staged in the car market.
The Nandu reporter learned from the annual report of the company disclosed by Sichuan Automobile Mustang that the number of employees in 2021 disclosed in its social security information column was 389, 493 in 2020, and 655 in 2019, while in 2018, before Reading Automobile took over, the number of employees was 1044. This also means that in the three years after Reading Automobile entered Sichuan Mustang, the number of employees of Sichuan Automobile Mustang plummeted by 62.7%.
In terms of personnel changes in the sales sector, the above-mentioned former Mustang Motors regional manager also revealed to Nandu reporters that in October 2021, Mustang Motor's internal personnel have changed greatly, and a large number of personnel have been transferred to Reading Motors, "only a few people are left in the aftermath, and some personnel are 'forced to leave'".
The Nandu reporter learned from the China Executive Information Disclosure Network that Mustang Motors was listed as the enforcer twice in 2019, and the execution targets were 593621 yuan and 1173286 yuan respectively. The company's legal representative, Xu Xiaoming, received 38 consumption restriction orders between 2019 and 2021. Between 2019 and 2023, Sichuan Mustang was enforced by the court 54 times for failing to fulfill its legal obligations on time, the most recent of which was on January 30 this year.
On February 2, the head of sales of Mustang Motors told Nandu reporters that the company plans to transform into new energy vehicles, the fuel vehicle production line has been discontinued, and the company is actively looking for dealers to negotiate the withdrawal of agents, "If we are willing to withdraw from the network, we will refund his money; Those who are unwilling to withdraw from the network will wait for (continue to act as agents) for the company's new energy vehicles. When asked about the current business status of Mustang Motors, he said: "There is no operation, and now the company is maintaining stability." ”
Nandu reporters inquired about the national enterprise credit information publicity system and found that a number of new energy vehicle companies invested by Sichuan Automobile Mustang are currently in a "cancelled" state, including Sichuan Mustang New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Mustang New Energy Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd.
Nandu previously reported that in the second half of 2022, Reading Automobile, the major shareholder of Sichuan Automobile Mustang, was repeatedly accused of falling into financial difficulties and even falling into "bankruptcy" questions. At the end of the same year, Reading Cars was complained by a number of dealers that they had long "collected money and did not deliver cars".
Written by: Nandu reporter Feng Yiran
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