In January this year, Euler cat, which has long dominated the list of complaints on the car quality network, finally "abdicated" and was replaced by Volvo XC60.
Recently, the vehicle quality network released the list of the top 30 complaints about vehicle models in January 2022. Among them, Volvo XC60 ranked first. The number of complaints in January reached 88, doubling month on month. The reasons for complaints mainly focused on "suspected reduction". In the first month of 2022, the willingness of Chinese auto consumers to complain continued to rise, with more than 9500 effective complaints, setting a record for the same period in history
the picture is from vehicle quality network
Volvo is the only luxury car brand in the top 10 of the above list. In addition, the number of complaints about Volvo XC60 new energy has also ushered in an explosive growth, with 43 cases, ranking 11th. The reason for the complaint is also "suspected reduction of distribution".
Volvo, which has always been the main safety brand, topped the complaint list, which surprised many consumers.
Today, the first financial reporter learned from Volvo insiders that Volvo has indeed received more than 200 relevant customer complaints, and these complaints are also being actively handled. Now about half of them have been handled.
As for the reason why the sensing tailgate function is "downsized", the above-mentioned person said that the statement of "downsized" is actually inaccurate. This is because the short-term fine-tuning of the production line for the problem of "lack of core" also allows the dealer to inform the owner in advance that the "one kick" function of some batches is missing, but there may still be problems in the communication between them.
suspected "reduced configuration" sensing tailgate
The first financial reporter learned that since the end of last year, complaints about Volvo XC60 have been increasing online, and relevant topics have been fermenting.
Many Volvo XC60 owners complained that without informing the owners in advance, Volvo reduced the function of "one kick", that is, sensing the tailgate. These reductions occurred on the vehicles delivered from October to November last year, and the vehicles delivered after December returned to normal. These car owners who have been reduced believe that the manufacturer's behavior is suspected of deceiving consumers. It is obvious that there are different configurations of the same model, and therefore require the manufacturer to give a reasonable solution
the picture is from vehicle quality network
However, the reporter noted that the configuration table of Volvo XC60 official website did not clearly mark the induction tailgate, and the three-party websites such as car home also showed non-standard configuration. The electric tailgate is standard configuration except that the B4 Zhixing luxury version with the lowest configuration is not configured
picture from car home
This has also become a saying of many dealers in the face of car owners' complaints about "reduction of allocation": "there is nothing in the configuration table. Some take advantage of it. If not, just admit it."
However, some car owners complained that Volvo salespeople mentioned the function of sensing the tailgate when ordering and test driving, including tips in the manual. The reporter also found that in the electronic user manual of the 2022 XC60, Volvo did mention that "you can open and close the tailgate by moving your feet under the rear bumper, which makes it easier for you to operate when your hands are occupied. If the vehicle is equipped with Keyless locking and unlocking function, you can unlock the tailgate by moving your feet"
the picture is from Volvo's official website
The salesperson of a Volvo dealer in Shanghai responded to the reporter that the induction tailgate of Volvo XC60 was indeed cancelled due to the "lack of core", but now this function is equipped in other versions except the B4 Zhixing luxury version with the lowest configuration.
When netizens wondered whether the sensing tailgate was standard for Volvo XC60, Volvo's official customer service personnel and the above sales personnel said that in addition to the minimum configuration, other models were indeed standard sensing tailgate functions. A Volvo XC60 owner told reporters that the "one kick" function of Volvo XC60 has always been available, and there was indeed a "reduction" in the middle. Later, Volvo was scolded.
In addition, Volvo XC60 was also complained of audio-visual system failure, on-board interconnection failure, oil burning and so on.
sales person in charge meets the crisis of public opinion
Volvo XC60, the "protagonist" at the center of the vortex of public opinion, is a medium-sized SUV and has always been Volvo's "sales responsibility".
In 2021, Volvo's sales volume in China reached 171676, with a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. Among them, the annual sales volume of Volvo XC60 reached 65036, with a year-on-year increase of 5.55%, accounting for 38% of the total sales volume. The 2022 Volvo XC60, which was frequently complained about, was officially changed to be listed in June last year, and its official guidance price was 373900 yuan - 474900 yuan.
Although Volvo and its XC60 models achieved year-on-year growth last year, their growth has slowed significantly in recent years. From 2019 to 2021, the sales growth of Volvo in China was 18.4%, 7.6% and 3.1% respectively, and the sales growth of Volvo XC60 was 28%, - 1.6% and 5.55% respectively.
Under the epidemic, Volvo's production crisis caused by the continuous shortage of chip and other parts supply has also been reflected in the second half of last year. Volvo was repeatedly exposed to suspend factory production due to lack of core in August last year.
In December 2021, Volvo's global retail delivery volume was 64436, a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%. Volvo said that this was because the car production problems directly affected the delivery.
According to the data of the passenger Association, the life of the new Volvo XC60 in China is not easy. From August to December 2021, its sales volume has declined year-on-year for five consecutive months.
In January this year, Volvo's sales volume continued to decline. The data showed that Volvo's global sales volume in that month was 47561 and the sales volume in the Chinese market was 14629, with a year-on-year decline of 20.2% and 23.65% respectively. Volvo explained that it was still affected by the shortage of parts.
"Lack of core" is an important problem faced by almost all car companies under the epidemic. However, some complained that Volvo chose to reduce the allocation in a "secret" way, which is disrespectful to car owners.
Recently, some car companies have taken relevant countermeasures in the face of short chips. In October last year, ideal automobile launched the vehicle collection scheme of "reduced configuration" delivery due to the "core shortage" crisis. For the vehicles originally scheduled to be delivered from October to November last year, it proposed to install 3 radars first, and then carry out free replenishment for users later. In order to compensate the users who choose 3 radar installation scheme, the ideal vehicle provides the whole vehicle warranty and 10000 points.
Xiaopeng automobile has also launched two delivery schemes for the P5 that has just been delivered. Scheme a is to wait for the car to be collected and deliver it in sequence; Option B is the option to pick up the car first and then reinstall the radar, while the latter is supplemented with xpilot (3.0 / 3.5) software.
Zhang Xiang, an automobile analyst, pointed out to reporters that there is no blame for the delivery of "reduced allocation" due to "lack of core", but this should be based on the premise that consumers are informed. A more reasonable approach is to give consumers a certain discount after obtaining their consent, and promise to replenish the parts after they arrive.
