March 7 (reporter Wang Yidong) since February this year, china.com automobile quality complaint platform [entering the black cat complaint] has received a large number of complaints from Changan uni-k owners about “false publicity of Changan Automobile”.
According to the car owners’ complaints to reporters, before car buying, the major media and Changan WeChat official account publicize UNI-K models equipped with “APA6.0 automatic parking, L3 level automatic driving, face recognition ignition start, lighting show timing welcome lights, seat boss keys” and other functions. However, after the owner actually bought the car, he found that the real car did not have any of the above functions, and the vehicle OTA system has not improved some of the above functions after many upgrades. In this regard, car owners have complained about the problem to Chang’an manufacturers for many times, but the other party shirked it for various reasons.
Chang’an automobile has repeatedly fallen into the vortex of “false publicity”
In response to this, in the complaint Mediation Program of “pony says car” launched by china.com, the official customer service of Chang’an manufacturer was connected on site. The other party responded that the previous media publicity was an engineering test vehicle, and the listed mass-produced models did not carry some of the above functions. And the customer service staff stressed: apa6 0 automatic parking function and L3 automatic driving are developed in combination, and L3 automatic driving has not yet supported mass production.
However, according to the consistent feedback of the owner of the complaint: when the uni-k model was launched, the official of Chang’an did not clearly explain that the relevant functions of the demonstration operation were only engineering test vehicles. What makes car owners question is that some other models of Chang’an are equipped with apa6 as standard 0 Auto Park. “Doesn’t this contradict the manufacturer’s explanation of ‘apa6.0 automatic parking function and L3 automatic driving bundled development’?” It is worth noting that the Changan manufacturer’s WeChat official account and the uni gravitational field app show that the UNI-K models have the above functions.
After the reporter’s follow-up report and the continuous follow-up of the program “pony says car”, some car owners said that the 4S store could give compensation ranging from 3000 yuan, and said that if the manufacturer issued relevant compensation plans in the later stage, they would follow up. But this response made the car owners quite puzzled: why should the manufacturer’s compensation be graded for the same problem car? In addition, the official customer service once swore that the owner’s complaint about the reduction of allocation is only used as a demonstration to operate the engineering test vehicle, not a mass-produced vehicle. But why did the government give relevant compensation after the follow-up report of the media? For the above questions, our reporter also interviewed the relevant person in charge of Chang’an automobile brand, but so far, the official and relevant person in charge of Chang’an automobile have not given any reply.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that Chang’an automobile has fallen into the vortex of public opinion of false publicity. In March 2020, at the beginning of the launch of the first model uni-t of its uni series, Zhu Huarong, President of Chang’an Automobile, personally served as the anchor to explain the L3 level automatic driving function of Chang’an uni-t. However, after the car was launched, the owners reported that the real car not only did not have L3 automatic driving function, but also some other functions were castrated. Then the car was exposed to the scandal of false standard engine power and false sales.
Along with the 2022 Changan UNI-T listing, new cars have been upgraded in some aspects such as power and configuration, including the old car models that have been used by owners to tow slot, but the price of new cars is the same as that of old ones. This also causes some old owners to make complaints about “cutting leeks”, and then triggering a series of collective rights protection activities.
The complaint storm of “false publicity and sales fraud” also directly led to the sharp decline of Chang’an brand reputation and the decline of sales. According to statistics, uni-t model has also achieved a good result of selling more than 10000 vehicles per month after it was launched in 2020. However, as of December 2021, the sales volume of the car has fallen to more than 4000.
From this point of view, the recent complaint of “false publicity” of Changan uni-k model by a large number of car owners does not seem to be an accident. Repeated publicity inconsistent with the real car may lead to the collapse of the domestic car brand image just after it has been established in the hearts of car owners: “I bought it with the confidence of the rise of domestic products, but now I feel like I was deceived by my own faith.”
The response rate and closure rate of complaints are at the bottom
It can be seen from the ranking list of response rate and case closure rate of automobile enterprises on china.com automobile quality complaint platform in February that the response rate of Chang’an Automobile for owner complaints in February was only 26%, almost at the bottom of the list of response rate of automobile enterprises. From the level of case settlement rate, only 10% are also at the bottom level. In February, our online complaint platform received 81 complaints about Chang’an Automobile, of which 21 owners received the manufacturer’s reply, and only 8 owners confirmed that the case was closed and the problem was solved. From the response rate and case closing rate of automobile manufacturers to owners’ complaints, we can also see the importance of manufacturers to serving customers. At the same time, it also represents whether they are actively seeking to solve complaints with owners. Obviously, Chang’an Automobile still needs to do a lot of work in this regard.
Lawyer’s suggestion: complain to the relevant market supervision and administration department
On this matter, the reporter of china.com also consulted Lawyer Wang Yongjian of Henan Dahe law firm. In view of the recent complaint of Chang’an brand by uni-k owners, Lawyer Wang told reporters: Chang’an automobile is indeed suspected of “false publicity”. He explained that: on the occasion of product launch or express to consumers, as well as in the process of promotion and publicity, the official has clearly displayed the relevant functions. Without special instructions, consumers will default that the product has the function. The official explanation in the later stage is suspected of being misleading.
For the collective rights protection of complaining car owners, Lawyer Wang suggested that car owners can complain to the relevant market supervision and management departments. At the same time, complaining car owners can also unite to protect their rights through civil litigation.
In recent years, in addition to continuous efforts in the SUV field, China’s independent automobile brands are also promoting the high-end brand in an all-round way. From the strength of the publicity of Changan Automobile in the early stage of the listing of its uni series models, we can also see the importance that Changan Automobile attaches to this series, Zhu Huarong, President of Chang’an Automobile, once publicly expressed his expectations for uni series: “improve the brand of Chang’an passenger cars upward”. However, uni series models have been repeatedly criticized by car owners for “false publicity”