Sino-Singapore Jingwei, May 17 (Niu Chaoge, Chang Tao) The Porsche distribution reduction incident is still fermenting.

Some car owners didn't realize that the configuration was reduced until the new car was delivered. The installation fee starts from 30,000 yuan, and the compensation plan is currently only a voucher. What makes the car owner uncomfortable is that if the predetermined configuration is installed, the brand-new original car will become "in seconds". Modified cars".

　　Recently, Song Jie spent 1.35 million yuan to buy a Porsche Cayenne at the Porsche Center in Liaobu, Dongguan. When she delivered the car, she was told that the original electric steering column was temporarily changed to a manual steering column due to the shortage of chips.

Porsche's official solution has changed from free installation to no installation and only provides 2,300 yuan as compensation for gold coupons.

　　"The sales said at the time that they could be installed free of charge after the accessories arrived. At the same time, the official gave a maintenance voucher of 2,300 yuan, but recently they said that the free installation was cancelled. The official plus store compensated a total of 13,500 yuan of vouchers, but the installation of electric The steering column will cost at least 30,000 yuan." Song Jie said.

　　"If an electric steering column is installed, the vehicle needs to be repaired on a large scale, and the price of a Porsche that has lost its 'original' status will drop in the second-hand market." Zhang Xiang, an expert from China Bolian Think Tank, told Sino-Singapore Jingwei.

　　According to a recording of a conversation between the car owner and the Porsche customer service center held by Sino-Singapore Jingwei, due to insufficient chip supply, Porsche officially reduced the vehicle to a "manual steering column", and the change in the compensation plan also caused dissatisfaction of the car owner: the car owner will be installed for free. "Electric steering column" has become no longer free to install, but provides 2,300 yuan voucher compensation to car owners, and if car owners install the electric adjustment function by themselves, it will cost at least about 30,000 yuan.

　　Why did "manual steering column" become "electric steering column"?

What is the difference between the two?

How will the owners of the cars involved defend their rights?

The lack of core causes the electric adjustment column to become manual

　　Sino-Singapore Jingwei's inquiry found that the electric adjustment column was the standard configuration of Porsche's models before, and most of the vehicles involved had car purchase contracts signed in 2021.

　　Taking the Porsche Panamera luxury coupe series as an example, the 2021 Panamera models are equipped with electric adjustment columns, while the subsequent Panamera 2022 and 2023 Panamera models are only half of the configuration with electric adjustment. column.

　　In addition, the electric adjustment column with insufficient capacity is giving priority to supplying high-end Porsche models, such as the Porsche 911 priced from 1.3 million yuan, all configurations are electric steering columns, while in the relatively low-priced 2023 Cayenne, all configurations are manual steering column.

　　"When I bought the car, the official website stated that it was an electric steering column, and the car purchase contract was also clearly written. In December 2021, when I picked up the car, I was told that the actual configuration was a manual steering wheel, and the precise reduction was not notified in advance. Recently, the official website The relevant instructions have also been removed from the shelves, is there such an operation?" Song Jie complained.

　　In the car purchase contract provided by the car owner to Sino-Singapore Jingwei, the relevant words such as "14-way, electric adjustment" clearly appeared in the configuration.

(Car purchase contract, photo provided by the interviewee)

　　In this regard, Sino-Singapore Jingwei called Porsche China, and the other party admitted that this phenomenon did occur.

"It is true that some car owners have reported that the electric steering column has been reduced to a manual steering column. You need to communicate with the store about the specific situation." Porsche official customer service told Sino-Singapore Jingwei.

　　What is this reduced steering column?

What is the difference between electric and manual?

　　According to Zhang Xiang, the steering column is the component of the steering system that connects the steering wheel and the steering gear. It is divided into two types: manual steering column and electric steering column. "The manual steering function mainly uses the power steering of the hydraulic system, which is a mechanical system. Steering function, which uses electric motor assistance, is smaller, more compact, lighter and more energy efficient than manual steering.”

　　From the perspective of the car owner, the function of the adjustment column is to give the driver different steering feedback according to the speed of the vehicle, and the electric steering column is more expensive.

Zhang Xiang believes, "The electric steering function is mainly superior in that the resistance upgrade is smoother, the volume is lighter, and it is more energy-saving. And the price of the manual version is lower than that of the electric version."

　　Why was the previously standard electric steering column changed to a manual steering column?

　　From the production point of view, the difference between electric and manual is that the electric steering column needs to use a chip. "Electric steering needs to use a chip to calculate the speed of the vehicle, and calculate the size of the resistance output during steering according to the speed of the vehicle, and the size of the electrical torque." Zhang Xiang said .

　　Under the current situation of "lack of cores" in the world, the chip capacity required for the electric adjustment column is insufficient to meet the loading demand. This is the official explanation of Porsche.

　　The vehicle involved this time has also cancelled the compensation measure for free installation due to "lack of core".

　　"The global semiconductor capacity shortage is still very serious. ... After many coordination efforts at Porsche headquarters, it is still unable to estimate the arrival time of the chips related to the electric adjustment function. This means that the previous restoration and replacement plan will leave customers on the continual basis. Uncertainty and indefinite waiting. Therefore, at the end of the first quarter of this year, Porsche headquarters was forced to decide to cancel the restoration and replacement plan of the steering column with electric adjustment function.” Porsche China sent a message to Chinese car owners on April 30. stated in the letter.

Car owner: Refuse to compensate for vouchers Customer service: More than one car is involved

　　In the absence of advance notice and inadequate compensation, many Porsche owners do not accept the official explanation of "insufficient chip production capacity".

　　"The 14-way power-adjustable seat is an option for extra money. Why do you have to spend money to reduce the configuration? Why is there an electric steering column when the order is placed, and it is said that the production capacity is insufficient when the car is delivered?" A Porsche owner questioned road.

　　"When I picked up the car in April, the salesman said that the electric steering column was missing, and promised to postpone the installation for free, and give 3,000 yuan of gold coupons as compensation for the delay." The owner of the car, Wang Lei, told Sino-Singapore Jingwei.

(Deferred installation commitment letter, photo courtesy of the interviewee)

　　Subsequently, the plot reversed, and the free installation originally promised by Porsche became impossible to install, and a subsidy of 2,300 yuan in cash coupons was provided.

　　"Affected by the shortage of production capacity, we had to deliver your Porsche vehicle ahead of schedule when we could not install the electric steering column, and due to the unpredictable duration of the production shortage, we were forced to cancel the restoration of the installation of the electric steering column for you." In the video sent by the interviewee, Mr. Chen, Porsche's official customer service told Mr. Chen.

　　"In addition, the Porsche Centre will provide you with a voucher of RMB 2,300 as compensation," the Porsche Customer Service Center told Mr. Chen.

　　"The 4S shop gave me a 2,300 yuan coupon, saying it was given by the Porsche manufacturer." Another Porsche car owner made the same statement to Sino-Singapore Jingwei.

　　"It costs 30,000 yuan to install an electric steering column, and it is unreasonable to only pay 2,300 yuan in cash vouchers." Regarding Mr. Chen's question, the Porsche Customer Service Center replied: "I'm sorry, but you are not the only vehicle involved. car."

　　If you accept the cash coupon compensation from the official and the 4S store, you need to sign a non-disclosure settlement agreement, promising to keep the related matters related to the cash coupon compensation confidential, and no longer pursue the compensation.

(Confidentiality Settlement Agreement, provided by respondents)

　　On April 27, in the live broadcast room of Porsche's new car release, the Porsche owners who were defending their rights used "Porsche returned my electric steering column" and "Porsche is suspected of sales fraud" as their usernames, and they dominated the live broadcast room by swiping gifts. rights.

　　"Porsche's behavior can no longer be described as a reduction in allocation. It can be said to be a 'clear grab'. I hope Porsche can make a public and sincere apology and meet the reasonable compensation needs of consumers." Rights protection in the live broadcast room The owner said.

　　"We have quickly established a special working group, led by Porsche Headquarters and Porsche China, to jointly study all possibilities with relevant suppliers, and hope to find a solution as soon as possible." Porsche China pointed out in the aforementioned open letter.

　　However, as of press time, Porsche officials have not clearly given the latest compensation measures.

　　In addition, when a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei consulted with Porsche China customer service as a car owner on the 16th, the customer service confirmed that there was a voucher compensation measure, but denied that the 2,300 yuan voucher was the official compensation, and the issue of changing the brand new original car to a modified car was not known. respond positively.

"The specific compensation plan is still being communicated. The voucher is a compensation measure for the store. If you are not satisfied with the compensation plan, you can postpone the pickup until the compensation plan is introduced."

　　However, according to the video of the call between Mr. Chen and the Porsche customer service center held by the Sino-Singapore Jingwei reporter, the 2,300 yuan voucher is indeed the official compensation proposed by the customer service center.

　　In addition, according to a number of car owners, in addition to the official compensation of 2,300 yuan, the current compensation plan also includes 4S shop compensation ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan, and the compensation plan is negotiated by one person.

　　Mr. Kang signed a car purchase contract in January 2021. In October 2021, when Mr. Kang went to the Porsche store to pick up the car, he learned that there was no electric steering column, "The Porsche manufacturer gave a voucher of 2,300 yuan, and our store will add an extra Indemnify you 11,500 yuan in cash vouchers, a total of 13,800 yuan in cash vouchers." Porsche sales told Mr. Kang.

　　Zhang Xiang believes that it is unreasonable for Porsche officials to only compensate 2,300 yuan in vouchers, "at least to ensure that the owner can install the missing electric steering column for free."

　　"A set of electric steering column costs 30,000 yuan. If Porsche only compensates 2,300 yuan in vouchers, consumers who need electric steering have to pay for the installation themselves." Zhang Xiang said.

　　In addition, "the vouchers given by Porsche are almost always time-limited and have to be used up within one year, and most of them even have a limited frame number, so they cannot be used easily." Several Porsche owners said.

　　If you choose to install an electric steering column, the vehicle will lose its original status, resulting in a drop in used prices.

Zhang Xiang pointed out, "The installation of the steering column requires many parts to be removed, which is a relatively large maintenance operation. After installation, the car is a repaired car, not an original car. If it is resold, the price will be higher than that of the original one. The original car that hasn't been dismantled is low."

China has been Porsche's largest single market in the world for seven consecutive years

　　In addition, many car bloggers believe that Porsche is also suspected of double standards, treating domestic and foreign users differently.

　　"Porsche is the only brand that does not provide an electric steering column only for Chinese consumers, and it is also the only brand that charges Chinese consumers with a manual steering column for delivery to Chinese consumers." Several car bloggers said publicly.

　　According to public reports, Porsches in the North American market are equipped with electric steering column hardware and mechanical parts, but the chip is missing, and Porsche US officially compensated the American car owner $500, and sent an email to notify the relevant car owner in advance.

On the other hand, in the Chinese market, Porsche directly installs a manual steering column, provides cash coupons as compensation, and only informs the owner when the car is picked up.

"This shows that we didn't plan to equip our Chinese car owners with electric steering columns from the beginning." Several car owners told Sino-Singapore Jingwei.

　　In this regard, Porsche China customer service denied that it treats Chinese consumers differently, saying that because of different policies in North America, the compensation measures are different.

　　For Porsche, the Chinese market is one of the markets that it cannot give up.

According to official Porsche data, Porsche will deliver a total of 301,915 vehicles globally in 2021, of which Porsche will deliver a total of 95,671 vehicles to the Chinese market in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 8%.

　　"In 2021, China will be the largest single market for Porsche brand in the world for seven consecutive years, and 32% of Porsche's global sales will come from China." Yan Boyu, President and CEO of Porsche China, once publicly stated.

　　At the same time, 2022 is a very critical year for Porsche China. Meschke, vice chairman of the Porsche Global Executive Board, publicly stated that because of the newly established Porsche China R&D branch in 2022 and the Porsche Digital that was just separated from the Porsche China system last year Technology Co., Ltd. will fundamentally change the position of the Chinese market in the world of Porsche.

　　"China is one of our most important strategic markets, not only because of its dazzling sales data, but more importantly, its outstanding performance and broad space in digitalization and innovation." In March 2022, Messgar publicly stated .

　　Recently, the People's Daily Online commented that in the face of increasing consumer complaints, Porsche only stated in its apology statement that it would compensate for the thousand-yuan voucher for next use.

It's just a fool's errand, and there's no shame in it at all.

I hope Porsche can come up with a decent remedy for consumers to buy it as soon as possible.

Companies that do not respect consumers will eventually pay for their arrogance.

(At the request of the interviewee, Song Jie, Wang Lei, Mr. Kang, Ms. Zhang, and Mr. Chen are all pseudonyms.)