Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 936: Rejecting the recall proposal: Patching is obviously a scam
"Mr. Cao, talking about Volkswagen, there is really some news closely related to Spring City Volkswagen during this period."

"I heard that Volkswagen is also discussing countermeasures internally."

Yu Yu is considered the most well-informed person in the Chinese automobile industry.

She is well aware of the situation of many other car manufacturers.

Especially for some gossip news, if you ask her for consultation, you will most likely be able to get some news.

This time Cao Yang wanted to stumble Volkswagen, so asking Yu Yu was obviously the most appropriate thing to do.

"Oh?"

Cao Yang became interested immediately, "Tell me more about it!"

Although Volkswagen has been improving its relationship with Nanshan Automobile Group in the past year, things in the mall are not as simple as black and white.

From the perspective of the entire Chinese market, Volkswagen's sales in China have re-entered a stage of rapid growth, which is obviously not in line with the overall interests of Nanshan Automobile Group.

After all, even if Spring City Volkswagen and Modu Volkswagen cooperate with Nanshan Automobile Group, their scale is far smaller than that of other independent brands.

For example, Nanshan Automobile Group may earn 5,000 yuan by selling a Changan Automobile.

But it may be difficult to earn even 500 yuan from selling a Volkswagen.

After all, they have their own supply chain, which is not something you can easily change.

"On March 2012, 3, the new Sagitar was launched, using a lower-cost torsion beam non-independent rear suspension, while the previous Sagitar used independent suspension."

"Since the second half of 2012, car owners have reported that the paint on the rear suspension of the vehicle is peeling off and rusting, there are abnormal noises while driving, and the rear suspension is directly broken on the highway."

"Car owners began to realize the problem and began to gather and defend their rights, but Spring City Volkswagen responded that this situation is an exception."

"Individual dealers responded by replacing car owners with new rear suspensions, but this failed to solve the problem. The Sagitar suddenly became the model with the most complaints."

"On September 2013, 9, the 5 Sagitar was launched, still using a torsion beam non-independent rear suspension."

“However, in May 2014, without upgrading the model or changing the model, the Sagitar quietly changed the non-independent suspension to a multi-link independent suspension, and Volkswagen did not make any publicity, and its performance was extremely low-key, which aroused the concern of consumers. suspicion."

Since Cao Yang is interested, Yu Yu must explain the situation in detail.

She had already guessed what Cao Yang probably wanted to do.

Anyway, Autohome has cooperated with Nanshan Automobile Group to do similar things in the past many years.

"On July 2014, 7, Spring City Volkswagen made an official statement, clearly stating that the Sagitar rear suspension fracture was not a batch problem of the product, but that individual cases were amplified by people with 'ulterior motives'."

"On August 8 this year, the General Administration launched a defect investigation, interviewed Spring City Volkswagen, and carried out user return visits, on-site inspections, and defect technical analysis."

"As a result, the attitude of the public in Spring City has begun to change."

"There are many Sagitar car owners on the Autohome forum who are constantly criticizing Spring City Volkswagen. We are also in contact with some car owners."

"Because this matter seems to be getting serious, I heard that Spring City Volkswagen is preparing to recall the Sagitar and several other models in the past few days."

"Then the repair plan is said to be very funny."

Yu Yu said while observing Cao Yang's reaction.

If the latter is very interested, then she must continue to talk carefully.

"Is it a patch?"

After hearing what Yu Yu said, Cao Yang was naturally impressed.

At that time, Volkswagen's "patching" maintenance program caused quite a stir.

Unexpectedly, there is still a similar solution now.

It seems that if you don’t seek death, you won’t die.

"Mr. Cao, your description of 'patching' is so apt."

Yu Yu was stunned for a moment, and based on what he learned about the situation, he immediately realized what "patch" meant.

She was even planning to arrange for someone to compile relevant articles. After Spring City Volkswagen officially announced the recall plan, she would spread the word "patching".

The impact will definitely be huge by then.

"The news I heard is that Spring City Volkswagen's recall measure this time is to install a 'metal lining'."

"It is said that they internally believe that the metal lining will increase the critical longitudinal load of the suspension. If the rear axle trailing arm breaks, the metal lining can ensure the driving stability of the vehicle and will emit a continuous warning noise."

At this point, Yu Yu couldn't help laughing.

This was the first time in so many years that she had heard of such a funny recall response plan.

Continuous warning noise?
What is this ghost?

"If Spring City Volkswagen really adopts this recall measure, then I think you can specially arrange vehicles for testing."

"According to Volkswagen, after the longitudinal arm body is broken, the added liner will produce a continuous warning noise."

"But I think after the liner is installed, if the trailing arm body breaks, there may indeed be a discernible and continuous warning noise when driving on bad roads."

"But most consumers are driving on good roads, so it is not easy to detect at this time and cannot effectively serve as a warning."

"Then there is still a risk of losing control of the vehicle due to failure to detect the breakage of the rear axle trailing arm body and the liner breaking again."

"Anyway, we can't let go of the people in Spring City easily."

Obviously, Cao Yang wanted to take this opportunity to suppress the rising sales trend of Spring City Volkswagen and Magic City Volkswagen.

Although it is impossible to directly suppress Volkswagen's sales because of this incident, it will definitely have a certain impact.

After other car companies see these opportunities, they will not be idle.

By then, Volkswagen will become the target of public criticism, and it will be very difficult for sales to continue to increase.

Even after such a setback, the Sagitar's sales will inevitably decline significantly, and Spring City Volkswagen's sales will inevitably be affected.

"Mr. Cao, in addition to making a fuss about Sagitar's recall plan, I think it can actually be further derived and come up with something specious."

"Many Volkswagen models are platform cars, or have various special relationships with each other."

"As long as we ruin the reputation of the Sagitar, we can completely ruin the reputation of other models by giving everyone the opportunity to educate everyone about the relationship between the domestic models of Spring City Volkswagen and Magic Volkswagen."

If the boss wants to cause trouble, Yu Yu will definitely go all out.

It is inevitable to take the initiative to propose some new tricks.

"Be specific!"

Cao Yang didn't fully understand what Yu Yu meant, so he asked.

"Volkswagen's passenger cars are basically jumping on several platforms."

"The most well-known is the Jetta. In 1991, the second-generation model of the overseas version of the Jetta was first introduced in China. The Jetta introduced at that time was authentic and became one of the 'three old ones' in people's mouth because of its reliable performance. But when the third-generation model was updated overseas, it was not followed.”

"Until the fourth generation of Jetta was launched overseas, the original version was imported into China, but the name was changed to the 'Bora' we are familiar with today."

"The fifth-generation Jetta model launched overseas was also introduced in China, but the name was changed to 'Sagitar' and has been used ever since."

"So as long as we can create an impression that if the Sagitar has problems, the Bora and Jetta also have problems, and even if the Lavida and Santana, which are on the same platform as the Bora and Jetta, also have problems, we can affect their sales to the greatest extent."

After Yu Yu said this, Cao Yang probably understood her plan.

When promoting the article later, nine out of ten sentences were true, but there was one sentence in it that sounded both true and false.

The effect it will have at that time will probably be very exciting.

Cao Yang naturally had no objection to this.

As if to verify the accuracy of Yu Yu's information, Chuncheng Volkswagen officially released the recall plan for the Sagitar a few days later.

At this moment, the owners of the Sagitar were "excited".

Many people must be very dissatisfied with such a plan that insults their intelligence.

Autohome and other media outlets naturally would not miss this opportunity and frantically published various related articles.

The recall plan for the "patch" of the Sagitar quickly became a hot topic, allowing owners who are not owners of the Sagitar to gain some insights.

“方主编，春城大众宣布自2015年1月1日起，在华夏召回2011年5月份至2014年5月份生产的新速腾汽车，涉及车辆为463605辆。”

"The recall of more than 46 vehicles clearly shows that Spring City Volkswagen itself has denied the claim in its previous 'magic statement' that 'the Sagitar rear suspension problem is an extremely isolated case.'"

"Chuncheng Volkswagen has contacted us this morning, hoping that our website will not report too much news about the Sagitar recall."

"For this reason, they are willing to increase their advertising spending by 10 million yuan here."

As a channel with relatively large influence in the domestic automotive media circle, NetEase Auto Channel is naturally the focus of Spring City Volkswagen's research.

Especially after the recall plan was announced, it immediately became a hot topic and was criticized by many people.

This also puts Volkswagen under pressure.

"Do you think Volkswagen's recall can solve the problem of broken axles in the Sagitar?"

Fang Dawen did not express his thoughts immediately.

Similar things have happened from time to time in the past, and it is an unspoken rule in the industry for media to withdraw articles for money.

"The recall measure proposed by Volkswagen is to install metal linings on the rear axle trailing arms of the new Sagitar."

"According to their dealers: the metal lining will increase the critical longitudinal load of the suspension. If the rear axle trailing arm breaks, the metal lining can ensure the driving stability of the vehicle and will emit a continuous warning noise."

"That is to say, Chuncheng Volkswagen admitted that after the implementation of the plan, the rear suspension may still break."

After Lin Jiayan said this, Fang Dawen immediately asked: "Then why doesn't Spring City Volkswagen provide consumers with a better solution, such as replacing a new rear suspension?"

"After all, if the public in Chuncheng believes that there is still a risk of rupture, then this problem has definitely not been completely solved."

Lin Jiayan has her own opinion on Fang Dawen's question.

"It is understood that the cost of installing a metal lining is quite low, no more than 100 yuan, while the cost of replacing a new non-independent suspension or independent suspension is more than several thousand yuan."

"So I think Chuncheng Volkswagen took this desperate measure due to cost issues, and solved the problem of the broken rear suspension of the Sagitar by patching it." Hearing Lin Jiayan's questioning of the cost issue, Fang Dawen said, "It is indeed true. The cost of installing a metal lining is very low, and replacing a new suspension must be very expensive. From the perspective of practical interests, Chuncheng Volkswagen is definitely unwilling to replace the new suspension."

Lin Jiayan: "There is something even more disgusting. A Volkswagen spokesperson said that the rear axle fracture was related to the driving habits of Chinese drivers, not the technical defects of the rear axle itself. The recall does not involve technical reasons, and the rear axle itself is safe."

Fang Dawen: "It is definitely not a good reason to explain the rear suspension breakage problem by citing the driver's driving habits."

“Before any car is launched on the market, it has been tested on road conditions, climate, etc.”

"If Volkswagen is not aware of the problem of consumer habits, it is enough to prove Volkswagen's failure in research and development and that this issue was not taken into consideration during the design process."

"So even if the reason for the rear suspension breaking is the consumer's usage habits, it is still the manufacturer's responsibility."

This logic is obviously not difficult and anyone can understand it.

Under such circumstances, Fang Dawen was really hesitant to take the advertising fee from Chuncheng Volkswagen.

"Autohome seems to be reporting this news on a large scale, and even on their forums there are many Sagitar owners organizing some targeted activities against Volkswagen."

"We just need to maintain an objective and fair attitude in this matter."

It is obvious that Fang Dawen does not want to offend Nanshan Automobile Group.

The attitude of Autohome, to a certain extent, represents Nanshan Automotive Group.

Nanshan Automobile Group has fought with many joint venture car companies before, and Fang Dawen is very clear about this.

We are all in Guangzhou, we see each other every day. If we offend each other, the consequences will be bad.

"Well, then I will arrange work for everyone according to this spirit."

After hearing Fang Dawen's answer, Lin Jiayan's face showed a little more admiration.

In her opinion, there are not many people like her boss who are not afraid of power and can resist the temptation of advertising fees.

……

"Ayang, I just contacted Huaxia TV. They will follow up on the Sagitar axle recall on the news channel to put enough pressure on Volkswagen."

Fang Sisi was naturally very clear about the purpose behind what Cao Yang wanted to do.

This kind of plan can further put pressure on the other party through Huaxia TV and make the impact of this incident even greater. Cao Yang will take the initiative to promote it without her saying much.

So far, among domestic joint venture car companies, Volkswagen has the highest overall sales volume.

Whoever stands out will be suppressed.

This is something that Nanshan Automobile Group must do.

"It is impossible for Spring City Volkswagen to directly replace the suspension for consumers. The cost of doing so is too high and no car company can afford it."

"So in the end, they either pretended to be dead, or made all kinds of excuses, hoping that time would dilute the matter."

"The more they do this, the more we need to make this known to the public and damage their brand reputation."

Cao Yang was obviously well aware of the various plans that Volkswagen would take.

Once this kind of thing happens, it will definitely be difficult to deal with.

"A lot of people trust Volkswagen, which has led to Volkswagen being a little bit unscrupulous now. They may think that my attitude will not affect my sales."

"Especially during this period, the sales of Spring City Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen have been increasing, which gave them a false impression."

"In that case, let's teach them a lesson."

Fang Sisi is not a naive person.

The development of Volkswagen will threaten the interests of Nanshan Automobile Group, so it will definitely be suppressed.

Even if there is some cooperation between the two parties, it still needs to be handled as it should be.

In commercial warfare, many means are used together.

"Yes, it is undeniable that the Volkswagen brand has been deeply rooted in China for many years and has a deep foundation in the minds of some consumers."

"Especially after some special reasons caused the sales of Japanese cars to decline, Volkswagen became the biggest beneficiary among the joint venture brands."

"This time, the official car reform has once again brought benefits to Volkswagen."

"If we don't give them a good beating, the public will become arrogant again."

Nanshan Automobile Group can float, but other car companies cannot.

In China's automobile industry, Cao Yang is so domineering.

Why are there all kinds of visible and invisible barriers when various car companies enter the German market?

But you, Volkswagen, are conquering China?

Even though it was suppressed by Nanshan Automobile Group in the past few years, it is still alive and well.

Now it seems to be bottoming out.

This trend must not be allowed to take shape.

"I think other car companies will not miss such an opportunity."

"The market pie is so small, if Volkswagen takes too much, it will affect the sales of other car companies."

"Especially the Japanese car companies such as Civic, Corolla and Sylphy, which are competitors of Sagitar, probably hope that Volkswagen can divert Chinese consumers' dissatisfaction with Japanese car companies this time."

Behind any piece of hot news there are many people pushing it forward.

This is especially true in the automotive industry.

After all, the conflict of interests among everyone is still very obvious.

No one can go against money.

Volkswagen will naturally not remain indifferent to the matter that all parties in the automotive industry are paying attention to.

"Tariq, you need to fully guide dealers to communicate well with consumers and not let the situation get any worse."

Vondel is no longer as calm as he was some time ago.

Although the problem of broken axles of the Sagitar has emerged one after another before, it has not really formed a large-scale public opinion offensive.

On the contrary, after the recall announcement was released this time, the matter became a complete blast.

This was naturally not the situation he wanted to see.

"Vondel, our desire to save money and avoid problems has been reported by many media, and many consumers also think so."

"I heard that Sagitar consumers across the country will go to our 4S stores to defend their rights this weekend. I'm afraid this matter cannot be solved simply by communication."

Tariq is also under a lot of pressure now.

Chuncheng Volkswagen's sales volume has been increasing continuously. If it starts to decline again because of this incident, it will definitely be unacceptable.

After all, Tariq had also experienced the days when Spring City Volkswagen's sales were sluggish.

He didn't want to do it again.

"Our new Sagitar no longer has this problem. The ones causing trouble now are those who bought their cars between 11 and 14."

"We can appropriately give out some maintenance coupons to eliminate some of the dissatisfaction of consumers."

"We have also been communicating with the media to let everyone know that the current plan is the most effective one."

It's not like Vondel has nothing to do now.

Whether it was previously asking various media to place advertisements to reduce reports related to the Sagitar, or communicating with the Chuncheng Automobile Group to seek relevant help and support.

But the final effect is not very ideal.

"We have already done everything we can to appease and compensate consumers, but more consumers are coming out to cause trouble."

"Generally speaking, the owners of Sagitar cars are not troublemakers, most of them seek stability, and most of them are not familiar with rights protection, parades, and demonstrations. But when various media outlets linked this incident to threats to the personal safety of consumers and their families, many people became more motivated to cause trouble."

"We also arranged for some people to infiltrate various rights protection groups of Sagitar owners to understand the situation, hoping to see if we could calm everyone's emotions, but it seems that the effect is not very good."

Tariq explained the work he was doing with a feeling of grievance.

It's not like he didn't try hard.

Even Chuncheng Automobile Group has contributed.

"There must be someone behind this, and even all of China's auto industry peers are fanning the flames."

"So it is inevitable that things are not so easy to suppress."

"But we absolutely cannot allow consumers to continue to cause trouble in our 4S stores, as that would affect the sales of other models."

What Feng Del is very concerned about now is whether the incident with the Sagitar will affect the sales of other models.

That would be the worst outcome.

However, sometimes, the more you worry about something, the more likely things will develop in that direction.

"Most of the Sagitar owners are office workers. They probably don't have that much free time to cause trouble."

"It's OK to go there once in a while on the weekends, but it's impossible to go there every day."

"We will also communicate with various dealers to see how to deal with this situation."

Tariq doesn't have any particularly good solution for the time being.

At this time, we can only listen more to the opinions of the 4S stores on the front line of sales.

Many times, they actually understand the situation best and can take the most effective response measures.

In the end, even if something goes wrong, Chuncheng Volkswagen can pass the blame.

After all, 4S stores are franchised, not subsidiaries of Chuncheng Volkswagen.

(End of this chapter)