AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/22 Report--

Guangqi Fick's reputation for quality in the industry does not seem to be very good. There were many early complaints about quality problems, and even CCTV directly named "burning engine oil". As a result, sales continued to decline as a result of the collapse of word of mouth, and the brand began to decline. A few days ago, Guangzhou Auto Fick announced another recall, the problem with the starter may be the risk of engine cabin fire.

According to the recall notice, GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobile Co., Ltd. filed the recall plan with the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration in accordance with the requirements of the regulations on the recall of defective Automobile products and the measures for the implementation of the regulations on the recall of defective Automobile products. It is decided to recall a total of 26382 2019 Compass and Freeman vehicles equipped with 1.3T engines from February 3, 2020.

The models include 24404 partial guides produced from February 28, 2019 to December 23, 2019, and 1978 partial Liberty Man produced from August 9, 2019 to December 19, 2019.

Due to the lack of waterproof performance of the internal excitation switch of the starter, the water inlet corrosion of the starter excitation switch may occur under specific working conditions, resulting in the functional failure of the starter and the failure of the vehicle to start. in extreme cases, it may cause internal short circuit and wire harness overheating of the starter, increase the risk of engine cabin fire, and there are hidden dangers. Guangzhou Auto Fiat Chrysler Co., Ltd. will inspect and replace the improved starter for vehicles within the recall range free of charge to eliminate safety risks.

In addition to this problem, Compass cars equipped with 1.3T engines have also been recalled earlier. From August 9, 2019, GAC Fiat Chrysler recalled some of the 2019 compass cars equipped with 1.3T engines produced between February 28, 2019 and July 25, 2019, a total of 9052 vehicles. Due to the problem of the software strategy of the power system control module, the engine instantaneous output torque may not meet the actual load requirements under specific operating conditions, resulting in abnormal engine operation and engine flameout in extreme cases, resulting in safety risks. Guangzhou Auto Fiat Chrysler Co., Ltd. upgrades the powertrain control module software for vehicles within the scope of the recall free of charge to eliminate safety risks.

The original brand reputation is not good, coupled with frequent quality recalls, so some netizens commented, "this is a brand delayed by quality."

Sales of Guangzhou Auto Fick, which is in decline in China, fell below 100000 last year. According to sales data, GAC Fick sold 180000 units in 2016 and reached a record high of 222000 in 2017. In 2018, Guangzhou Auto Fick began to slow down sharply, with annual sales of 125000 vehicles, down 39 per cent from the same period last year. Quality problems broke out this year, CCTV directly named Jeep models frequently burning engine oil was repeatedly complained by users, the problem has not been solved for a long time. Under the pressure of public opinion, GAC Fick issued an announcement to recall 143900 models with 2.4L engines, the number of which exceeded the total sales of GAC Fick in 2018. Entering 2019, the days of Guangzhou Auto Fick in the cold winter of the car market are very difficult, with annual sales of only 73907 vehicles, down 41% from the same period last year and falling below 100000 vehicles.

Dealers are miserable. In May 2019, the person in charge of a Guangzhou Auto Fick dealer in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, who was about to withdraw from the net, revealed to the media that some 2.4L engines of Jeep brands burned engine oil in a large area, resulting in large areas of customers' rights protection, blocking doors, and even leading to normal operation in the store, which has not been effectively solved by manufacturers. The problem car is unsalable, and the manufacturer has a heavy sales task, which leads to great pressure on dealers. The person in charge of the above-mentioned dealers said that every month for 17 and 18 years, the sales tasks of the manufacturers were very heavy, and the inventory coefficient reached more than 3 months, resulting in a large backlog.

Due to long-term dissatisfaction with Guangzhou Auto Fick's business strategy, the problem of discord between manufacturers and dealers finally broke out. In August 2018, dealer representatives set up a rights protection working group to gather GAC Fick headquarters to safeguard their rights, requiring manufacturers to respect the interests of dealers and compensate for losses. There are also some dealers who lost confidence in the brand and finally chose to withdraw from the gateway store.

It can be said that Guangzhou Auto Fick is going downhill, the product quality problem has damaged the reputation, what is more serious is "artificial".

On April 29th, Fiat Chrysler announced that Zheng Jie, chief operating officer (COO) of Fick Group in China and president of GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobile sales Co., Ltd., had resigned. Zheng Jie, who has joined Fiat Chrysler for 10 years, is the first Chinese executive to join the top management of a world-class auto group.

After Zheng Jie's departure, GAC Fick's operating mechanism was adjusted, GAC Fick and Guangzhou Auto Fick sales company "integrated" operation, the integration of the functional departments of the two companies, and the president and executive vice president were also appointed.

Mak Mingkai, CEO of Fick Group, said that the new organization can better respond to the needs of the Chinese market and accelerate the goal of improving quality, reducing costs and providing excellent products to the market.

"use your strength to let your feelings fall to the ground", but they are crushed because of quality problems, and your feelings are slowly exhausted. Once the user's word of mouth is formed, it is difficult to recover the possibility. Apart from feelings, what else can Jeep do to impress consumers?

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat