If Honda exaggerates the fuel consumption incident in China

Before and after “3·15”, China and the United States, and now the world’s largest car consumer market and once the world’s largest car consumer market, have seen quite different results on two issues of similar nature.

In the face of the uproaring DSG incident, Volkswagen said that because it does not involve safety, it does not require a recall. After being interviewed by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on the 13th, a spokesman for Volkswagen China News said on the afternoon of the 14th that it will actively cooperate with the AQSIQ. The project that was initiated to solve the problem by upgrading the DSG gearbox software will continue.

On March 16th, a judge of the California High Court of Appeal approved the Honda Civic hybrid model owners to exaggerate the class action litigation solution of Honda's fuel-efficient performance for this model.

The settlement involves about 200,000 owners of Civic hybrids manufactured between 2003 and 2009. Honda will pay $100 to $200 per vehicle, plus up to $1,500 in purchases of new Honda discounts. According to the judge’s estimate, the total amount of reconciliation is around US$ 170 million.

This bizarre result is thought-provoking.

After China sat on the world’s largest automotive consumer market, improving automobile consumption laws and protecting consumer rights became the next concern.

When Honda advertised the Civic hybrid model, it exaggerated its fuel consumption performance, and was collectively litigated by consumers and eventually settled out of court for US$170 million.

If Honda America happens in China, it is estimated that the company will not suffer the slightest loss. In the Chinese market, it is just normal to exaggerate the performance of fuel consumption. Today, the fuel consumption of the models advertised by our company is generally higher than its reported fuel consumption.

Even if the public DSG incident has affected 500,000 vehicle owners, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has discussed the public twice before and after. Moreover, in a press release posted on the official website of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on March 13, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) commented on the technical record provided by the general public on March 1 and concluded that the technical measures mentioned above may not be complete. Eliminate DSG transmission-related faults that consumers have reflected, and ask them to further develop technical analysis and submit relevant technical specifications.

However, the industry’s expected recall has not yet arrived. This reflects the public’s indifference to the rights of Chinese consumers.

The industry believes that the reason for such differences is that the protection of Chinese consumers' rights and interests is not enough and consumers are always in a weak position. It is not uncommon for the phenomenon of consumers to lose their rights, and the resulting ignorance of manufacturers' indifference to consumer rights.

This kind of reality makes even the Germans, who are known for their rigorousness, become “flexible” and take advantage of China’s legal loopholes to avoid the cost and potential risks of recalls.

Many people in the industry believe that the public will eventually pay a price for their indifference to the interests of Chinese consumers. However, this is a later story. Now, we have seen that the protection of consumer rights in China is totally incompatible with China’s position as the world’s largest automotive consumer market.

The public DSG incident has once again awakened us. It is time to consider sound consumer laws and regulations. Otherwise, Chinese consumers continue to be hurt. Multinational corporations can still scrimp the Chinese market without sanctions and enjoy the profits brought by the Chinese market, but they ignore Chinese consumers.