Amid complaints of broken rear shafts from Sagitar owners, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has contacted Volkswagen to fix the problem.
Bloomberg reports 435 complaints were collected into the nation’s National Defective Motor Vehicle Recall Information Management Platform’s Defect Information Collection System, half of which were filed between July 30 and August 12 alone.
FAW-VW responded late last month by claiming the problems were isolated incidents (via expert analysis) and not anything on their end. The joint venture also vowed to sue anyone spreading “untrue” information about their products.
The investigation is taking place at the same time an antitrust probe by the government over price-cutting by seven transplants, including Volkswagen AG’s Audi.
Dear China:
You wanted to be like America.
Know now the life of American VW owners.
“…the nation’s National Defective Motor Vehicle Recall Information Management Platform’s Defect Information Collection System…”
Seriously?? They win over the Japanese for most words used in an organization’s name…
I am sure it sounds better in Mandarin. Well, this is government so I guess it would be Simplified Chinese.
When written out, it’s probably only 4 or 5 characters.
Simplified Chinese is just the Characters which were Simplified not the language, it’s still Mandarin.
Though the other Chinese languages which are written the same but, are unintelligible to each other.
To: Chinese Automotive Consumers
From: Current & Former VW Owners in North America
Welcome to the price of alleged Fahrvergnügen, and expect much more costs to come.
You’ll be told VWs are unique, special and that the price of ownership (major and minor components failures on an consistently annual basis) is worth it…because Fahrvergnügen.
This never happens to VWs in Europe!
C’mon now. VW is a very different beast here in China. The North American narrative or meme doesn’t apply.
They’re the number #1 brand in China, and have been for a long time, first established foreign brand there. Most Chinese taxis are VWs, and they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t durable and reliable. This also means that they have an extensive network for service and facilities – which is REALLY important in China – a lot of mechanics are familiar with VW (or Da Zhong, as it’s called in China) vehicles.
They’ll get the problem fixed.
Uh, the seven automakers are being pursued by the Chinese governemt for way OVER-charging for spare parts.
Their initial response to the charge was to price CUT parts prices like naughty schoolchidren caught stealing cookies. Unimpressed, Peking fined Audi $40 million anyway, and will probably ding all the other guilty parties as well, including BMW, Benz and JLR.
So, the last storyline in the post is completely incorrect. Backwards. This story has been going on for a month or more, plenty of time to understand it.
As for the rear shafts, this must be an AWD car. I guess VW can blame their Chinese suppliers if the government acts in as humorless fashion as VW seems to have reacted.
The foreign makers have been so successful, it looks like someone is filling up the Communist party cash bags for free. Extortion, and there’s nothing the foreigners can do but grin and bear it. Or maybe, just maybe, they were overcharging and actually installing dud halfshafts. Probably everyone is grubby to some extent.
What? It’s a Benz tradition to overcharge for parts. The cigarette lighter for an AMG is 40% more than the regular model. I don’t get it? They should just go to the Chinese version of Pelican Parts like a normal person and be done with it.
This has overtones of the Obama regime going after successful transplants. When totalitarians want their domestic markets, outsiders become pinatas.
The administration is running China now too?
Even if you really do have the reading comprehension capacity of a slow loris, why would you want to advertise it with that reply?
Right. You live in a totalitarian regime because your side lost an election. Let me say this slowly so you can understand. Grow. The. Heck. Up. I work with many people who did grow up in and escape totalitarian regimes. This line of neocon driven BS is so offensive to listen to in their presence that I have no patience for it anywhere. Get out of your den and meet some immigrants from any of the many hell holes we’ve allowed refuge and gain some perspective.
Absolutely right.
Over the years, I’ve done business in several totalitarian states (and a number of “guided democracies”), and gotten to know a number of people here who escaped therefrom. There is absolutely no comparison between these places and the US – those who claim the present US administration is “totalitarian” only reveal their complete ignorance of both the world we live in and government in the US.
Dude, the capital isn’t called Peking. Get with the times.
Hey, it’s only been “Beijing” in international usage since 1979. Give the man time to adjust!
The tricky part about it being China is that it could just be the government taking a jab at foreign-owned auto operations.
Or it could just be some ticked-off minister.
Or it could be that VW cheeps out on quality all over the place 80s GM style.
Yeah, my money’s on that last one too.
Hmmm… Surely a company wouldn’t deliberately cheap-out on important parts for a market that doesn’t have stringent* laws protecting its citizens from poorly-engineered/dangerous vehicles?
*Speculation.
No doubt car quality was much better when the PRC owned and operated all automobile manufacturers within its borders. The hard working, non-exploited proletariat made sure of that.
The kings of crappy parts are investigating VW for crappy parts, what a joke! This is coming from a victim of said Chinese crappy parts over and over again.
The Sagitar is the Chinese equivalent to the Jetta, a FWD vehicle. There are no reports of broken rear shafts in US cars, so what is the difference? Asia parts suppliers? Is there an AWD variant of the Jetta in China?
It’s not actually a rear shaft (poor reporting by many news outlets).
The real problem apparently is a fractured trailing arm on the rear axle.
Thanks for the clarification.
Fractured rear trailing arm? That sounds WORSE than a fractured [drive?]shaft.
More laughable: VW breakdowns, or China having a department of Quality?
See? We agree more often than you may sometimes think.
And they aren’t joking.
They will visit the North American assembly plants to inspect the process and cars coming off the line. (At least they have for FMC)
Are we obligated to substitute much crappier non-spec parts as soon as they leave, the way their countrymen (and my vendors) do to us?
If only it was their design. Then we could run extra parts and sell them to their competitors. Because why not? I’ve never found the China price inexpensive.
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