Volvo is caught up in a controversy over counterfeit audio systems, Bowers & Wilkins becomes Bowers & Wilkins fake audio systems, where are the interests of users?

Volvo, which rarely has scandals, has recently been caught up in a public opinion storm.

A car owner said that he bought a Volvo S60, and the Bowers & Wilkins central audio system and crystal gear lever that came with the car were replaced by so-called third-party accessories specifically for the car by the 4S store.

After comparing his S60 with other S60 owners, he found that there was a gap in the middle of the "W" in his "Bowers & Wilkins", and it became "VV", which was inconsistent with the genuine logo. Moreover, the crystal gear lever assembly of other car owners became only the gear lever head when he had it, and it did not glow.

The owner was naturally dissatisfied when the real thing turned out to be a fake. After discovering that he was cheated, the owner went to the 4S store to ask for an explanation, but the answer he received was also perfunctory. At first, the other party said it was a quality control problem, and then changed his words to say that it was a special car for a special purpose. What's even more outrageous is that the dealer actually received a complaint about this matter from the manufacturer in January.

Some sales staff among the dealers even said that they were not familiar with the English name "Bauer" and could not distinguish the difference between W and V. They claimed that "I have been doing this for so many years and have never heard of the original Baohua."

After media exposure, many Volvo owners also compared their own cars and found that the "Bower & Wilkins" audio system was not the same as the one described.

Although it seems that the Volvo 4S store's fraudulent replacement of products has been made very clear and the car owner's complaint should be easily resolved, judging from the communication between the car owner and the 4S store, things are far from that simple.

From the relevant materials provided by the car owner, we can see that although the relevant contract content mentions Bowers & Wilkins, it is actually unknown whether the word Bowers & Wilkins refers to Bowers & Wilkins or some other brand. Moreover, the contract does not mention that it is the original manufacturer.

To put it bluntly, the contract signed between the 4S store and the car owner did not clearly state that the audio system was Bowers & Wilkins. It is very unlikely that the 4S store or the brand will be held responsible.

To be frank, from the moment the contract is signed, the car owner may have been trapped in a trap designed by others. How can consumers possibly beat the 4S store's word games?

Volvo did not directly avoid this matter. Volvo Cars issued an official statement to respond to the recent online rumors that 4S stores replaced real products with fake ones.

Volvo said: Volvo Cars attaches great importance to the issue of "irregular behavior in the new car sales process" reported by some customers recently. We deeply apologize for the trouble and inconvenience caused to customers by this incident.

Volvo Cars always stands with its customers and will never tolerate any behavior that harms the interests of users.

After the incident, Volvo Cars immediately launched a special investigation and stated that it would uphold the principles of openness and transparency, thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident, properly handle it in accordance with the law, and ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of customers are fully protected.

It's something that needs to be said and the words sound very nice, but they have little effect in comforting consumers who have suffered great losses.

This statement seems to have two main meanings: one is self-praise, indicating that there is no problem with Volvo's original accessories; the second is to characterize this matter as irregular sales and has nothing to do with brand management. As for whether consumers can get any compensation or protection in the future, at least there is no mention of it at present.

Objectively speaking, Volvo's timely response shows that its attitude is relatively positive, and its firm belief that there is no problem with its original accessories suggests that this matter has a certain degree of credibility.

Bowers & Wilkins speakers have always been a major selling point of the Volvo brand, and center speakers are only available on top-of-the-line models. The brand is unlikely to distribute this type of accessory to 4S stores, which would affect the competitiveness of top-of-the-line models.

Judging from everyone's feedback on the Internet, there is no counterfeiting of Volvo's original standard or optional Bowers & Wilkins equipment. The problem mainly occurs when 4S stores promise to give away Bowers & Wilkins audio equipment when purchasing a car.

Consumers buy Volvo cars, and now they are in the 4S store game, so Volvo must be responsible for management. After all, users choose Volvo cars mainly because of their trust in Volvo's quality. Now such a copycat incident can only be said to be a side effect of Volvo's lack of strict management of dealers.

Now is a time when competition in the industry is fierce. If this incident is not handled properly, the impact of this wave of public opinion on the brand image will probably be enough to cause Volvo to suffer a heavy price.

From another perspective, this incident may also reflect the survival dilemma of Volvo dealers. It is certain that the 4S dealers are not right in playing word games during the sales process. However, there is an old saying that "hunger and coldness give rise to the desire to steal". With the prevalence of price wars and the shrinking profit margins of 4S dealers, the survival pressure of dealers is increasing. This has also led to many car dealers resorting to crooked means in order to sell cars.

For example, during the sales process, the 4S store said that they could directly give away or add a few thousand yuan to install Bowers & Wilkins speakers, but in fact they were selling inferior products as good ones, in order to deceive users who did not understand the ins and outs of the matter into buying the car.

It is important to know that the operational capabilities of dealers and brand development are inseparable, which is why many mainstream auto companies are constantly optimizing their dealer networks and improving dealer competitiveness. However, judging from the "copycat audio" incident that broke out this time, Volvo's dealers do not seem to be doing well, and there is still room for improvement in dealer management.

Now that things have come to this, it depends on what Volvo will do next. In any case, this incident is a reminder to consumers that when buying a car, while trusting the brand, they still need to be more careful.