AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/13 Report--

On January 13, the China Consumer Association released a report on "Top Ten Hot spots of consumption Rights Protection in 2019", in which the incident of "Mercedes-Benz owners crying about rights protection caused reflection from all walks of life" has become the first major topic of social influence in 2019.

The China consumers Association said that the result was calculated by the China consumers Association in conjunction with the people's Daily online public opinion data center, based on big data platform data and public opinion and social influence. Mercedes-Benz owners cried that the social impact index caused by the reflection of rights from all walks of life reached 80.5, reaching the top of the list.

Review of the incident-in April 2019, a video of a woman crying on the hood of a Mercedes Benz went viral on the Internet. In the video, the woman said that the newly purchased Mercedes-Benz engine leaked oil, while the dealer refused to accept the responsibility of returning the car on the grounds of the three-pack rule. With the continuous fermentation of public opinion, the problem of charging financial service fees in the process of car sales has also aroused public doubts. In this regard, the market regulatory department of Xi'an High-tech Zone filed a case for investigation in accordance with the law, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Consumer Association also spoke out one after another. In May, the market regulatory department of Xi'an High-tech Zone reported that there were quality problems with Mercedes-Benz cars, and Lizhixing Co., Ltd. was fined a total of 1 million yuan for two violations that did not meet the requirements for ensuring personal and property safety, and for exaggerating and concealing information of great interest to consumers to mislead consumers.

The China Consumer Association said that although the Mercedes-Benz owners' cry about the rights protection incident is an individual case, it reflects the current situation of difficulties in safeguarding rights in the field of automobile consumption, and at the same time reflects the chaotic phenomena in the automobile industry, such as product quality defects, many sales routines of manufacturers and dealers, and inadequate after-sales service, which is worthy of reflection from all walks of life. In view of the difficulty of safeguarding the rights of automobile consumption, public opinion believes that the relevant departments should take measures such as improving the consumer complaint mechanism, unblocking complaint channels and simplifying the complaint process to reduce the cost of safeguarding consumers' rights.

It is worth noting that "Mercedes-Benz owners cry to safeguard their rights" triggered local "fancy" imitation, public opinion called on consumers to safeguard their rights rationally and in accordance with the law. In view of the chaos in the automobile industry, public opinion believes that the relevant departments should strengthen the supervision of the automobile market and constantly improve relevant laws and regulations in order to maintain the healthy and orderly development of the automobile consumption market. China Consumer Association also said that it will explore the establishment of a sound credit publicity mechanism in the field of automobile consumption and strengthen enterprise credit constraints. At the same time, enterprises should also strengthen self-discipline, respect the rights and interests of consumers, and operate in good faith. In December 2019, the National defective Product Management Center said that the new version of the automobile three-package policy is under revision. Public opinion expects that the new three-guarantee policy can further standardize the automobile market and better protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

As the public opinion caused by Mercedes-Benz quality problems is not only Xi'an car owners crying to protect their rights, in 2019, Mercedes-Benz also encountered a large number of car owners to protect their rights, and the number of recalls caused by quality defects was as many as 28, occupying the top of the list.

According to statistics, in the past 2019, the Mercedes-Benz brand recalled 28 times, involving more than 1.4 million vehicles, covering most of the products launched by Mercedes-Benz, of which Class C and Class E were the worst-hit areas. Problems include steering gear, shock absorber fracture, front drive shaft, flat tire and so on, as well as some production problems of misinstallation and missed installation.

The problem of shock absorber fracture is a long-standing problem for Mercedes-Benz, but the inaction of the manufacturer attracted the attention of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration. Mercedes-Benz finally announced the recall only after the General Administration launched a defect investigation and informed the producer of the recall.

Mercedes-Benz issued Class C and E recall notices in May 2019, and in November issued an enhanced recall measure, involving a total of 670000 vehicles. The reason for the recall is that when the front shock absorber of the vehicle is impacted by a large external force, it may cause damage to the shock absorber and deformation and bending of the shock absorber fork head, and even cause the bushing of the lower control arm of the vehicle to protrude, which in extreme cases may lead to the fracture of the shock absorber fork head. There is a safety risk.

The Mercedes-Benz solution is to replace the front shock absorber or add reinforcement components to strengthen the strength of the relevant components.

In May 2019, Mercedes-Benz announced another recall after the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration launched a defect investigation. 50,000 E-Class cars equipped with 19-inch tires had a flat tire. Mercedes-Benz replaced a total of four tires for the recalled vehicles free of charge.

The frequent recalls of Mercedes-Benz mainly reflect two problems, one is the enterprise's relatively responsible attitude towards products and users, the other is that the risk of product quality instability is high, and there are also problems in quality control. It is worth noting that in many large-scale recalls, Mercedes-Benz did not apply for the recall on its own initiative, but urged enterprises to carry out the recall under the investigation of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration.

Even if there is a public opinion storm and frequent quality problems, it does not affect the sales of Mercedes-Benz in the Chinese market. A total of 702088 new cars were delivered in China in 2019, up 4% from a year earlier, according to official Mercedes-Benz figures. China remains the company's largest single market.

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