Auto defects soar amid price war in China
Defects have been found in 77% of locally made cars in China, largely due to a price war forcing manufacturers to cut corners, state press has reported, citing an industry survey.
By Agencies |
BEIJING: Defects have been found in 77% of locally made cars in China, largely due to a price war forcing manufacturers to cut corners, state press has reported, citing an industry survey.
The defects, found within six months of the cars being bought, mainly involved the tires, air conditioning, brakes, locks and steering wheels, the China Daily said, citing the ’06 China Automobile Customer Satisfaction Index.
“The defects are a result of carmakers constantly reducing prices and sacrificing quality,” the paper quoted Fan Tianshun, director of the China Quality Association, which conducted the poll, as saying.
“I recommend car producers not to grab market share simply by lowering prices.” For every 100 new cars, there was an average of 338 defects, much higher than last year’s 246, the report said. On average, China’s car prices have dropped about 10,000 yuan ($1,250) per car each year over “the past few years” as manufacturers try to compete in the booming market, the paper said.
After years of dynamic growth, China is now the world’s second largest auto market after the United States. In the first 10 months of the year, 5.89m vehicles were produced in China, up 27% from the same period in ’05, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
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Defects were more prevalent in cheaper cars in the 30,000 yuan to the 50,000 yuan range, such as China’s homegrown Geely, Chery QQ and the Changan Alto, the paper said. But fewer defects in more expensive cars helped result in customer satisfaction over China’s domestically built automobiles actually growing by 0.1% so far this year over ’05, the paper added.The index was based on a poll of 4,648 participants in 36 cities this year, it said.
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