Breach of trust "Angel Wheel" owner Zhiji Auto fell into a crisis of integrity
On the evening of May 10, 102 Zhiji "Angel Wheel" owners issued a joint statement to defend their rights, requesting Zhiji officials to declare that "the rights and interests of the Angel Wheel version have been surpassed, and the scarce seats are not scarce" and "the conditions for upgrading lidar and high-end energy batteries are not clear." Positive responses were given to issues such as "the configuration table advertises that the 93kWh battery capacity does not match the registration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology", "a number of unfulfilled auto show press conferences and advertisements", and "chaotic management of the official app community".
Photo courtesy of Visual China
"I waited for a year, but I was disappointed. I originally went to the big company SAIC, but I didn't expect it to be so unreliable." Recently, Lu Jun, the owner of Zhiji's "Angel Wheel", explained to reporters his As one of the first 3,000 people who pre-ordered Zhiji L7, he felt that he had been "tricked". The so-called "scarce and exclusive enjoyment" was not scarce, and the contrast between the earliest official configuration publicity and the actual configuration announcement also made him Feel cheated.
"Many car owners have reported issues such as vehicle reduction and false propaganda in the Zhiji official app community. Not only did they not get a reasonable answer, but Zhiji's employees also insulted the car owner's 'big cleverness' and 'Kong Yiji', which is unacceptable." Lu Jun said angrily.
Hundreds of car owners jointly defend their rights, and the "rights backstab" has become the biggest controversy
From April 2021, Zhiji Auto has launched the "Angel Rights" promotion policy for the first 3,000 owners who book Zhiji L7. These 3,000 seats are also called "Angel Wheel Seats".
In March this year, Zhiji Automobile officially announced the price of the mass-produced first model Zhiji L7 Pro - 408,800 yuan.
At the same time, Zhiji Auto also opened the lock orders for Angel Wheel users and A-round users, and announced the full version of "Angel Wheel Users' Special Rights" and "A-round Users Exclusive Rights".
At this point, the owner of the "Angel Wheel" who has waited for a year will usher in the delivery of the lock order.
However, some car owners found that the configuration table of the Zhiji car was different from the configuration promised at the previous conference when the lock was selected. Then they discussed related issues in the WeChat car group and Zhiji official app community, hoping to get a reasonable answer. .
What surprised them was that the management of the Zhiji car community was chaotic, the official staff had a bad attitude, and the normal inquiries about the rights of car owners were rudely ridiculed.
The owner of the "Angel Wheel" used by Zhiji Auto to repeatedly publicize and prove that its products are popular has become a typical example of "Much Ado About Nothing".
An "Angel Wheel" owner said with a wry smile that he felt "used".
After repeated communication with no results, on the evening of May 10, 102 Zhiji "Angel Wheel" owners issued a joint statement to defend their rights, requesting Zhiji officials to "upgrade the rights and interests of the Angel Wheel version, and the scarce seats are not scarce", "upgrade the lidar and high-end cars". The conditions of the energy battery are not clear”, “The configuration table advertises that the 93kWh battery capacity does not match the registration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology”, “The auto show press conference and advertisements have not been fulfilled”, and the official App community management is confusing. Responded positively.
An "Angel Wheel" owner, Yu Yang, told reporters that the demands of rights-defense car owners are different, but "the rights and interests of the Angel Wheel are surpassed, and the scarce seats are not scarce" is the focus of most people.
"Earlier, 'Angel Wheel' car owners have been fighting for interest-free rights, but now the preferential rights and interests of group customers have come out. Zhiji not only provides financial interest-free for group customers, but also superimposes angel card rights. The owner of the car feels tricked." Lu Jun said that Zhiji car was cutting the leeks of the owner of the "Angel Wheel".
It is understood that the employees of the founding shareholders will be given a free first-year IM Care brand car insurance service package (commercial car damage insurance + compulsory traffic insurance + 2 million third party liability insurance + on-board personnel liability insurance, unlimited vehicle maintenance, car delivery service, transportation Car service door-to-door tire repair, 4 times of vehicle health monitoring, remote power-up, paint repair, 12 times of vehicle fine cleaning), and 15% down payment, 24 interest-free; 15% down payment, 36 installments with a rate of 0.99% low interest loan.
The rights cover employees of SAIC, Alibaba, and Zhangjiang Group and their immediate family members, with a number of hundreds of thousands.
In addition to the financial policy of 7% down payment, 2.99% rate, and a maximum repayment period of 72, the owners of "Angel Wheel" also enjoy crystal benefits for Angel Wheel users (800 crystal red envelopes every Monday, and the number of crystals is accelerated by 3 times), "IM AD intelligent driving full-featured package" (standard intelligent driving full-featured package, free upgrade for life), data rights exchange software and hardware upgrade (upgradable lidar fusion driving system, next-generation high-end energy battery upgrade after three years), IM Care worry-free private service (7×24 hours worry-free private service) and other rights.
It is not difficult to see that there is a certain difference between the rights and interests of group customers and the rights and interests of angel cards, but if group customers have an angel round quota, then group customers can enjoy group rights plus angel card rights.
Therefore, there have been many posts on Xianyu about the transfer and purchase of Angel Wheel seats.
"If a group customer buys the 'Angel Wheel' car owner quota in 2021, and the rights and interests of group customers will be added this year, then we will recognize it. A lot of Alibaba employees around me went to Xianyu to buy the places of angel wheel owners to superimpose their rights and interests."
The car owners who defend their rights believe that Zhiji is suspected of fabricating the illusion of scarce rights and interests, and has concealed the promotion and preferential policies of other channels, which affects and damages consumers' full right to know and independent choice. "Wheel" car owners' financial promotion policies, fair fulfillment of commitments to consumer rights, and a clear distinction between them and internal employee benefits.
In this regard, IM Zhiji user manager Mao Xuan told reporters that whether the “Angel Wheel” owner will be given an interest-free policy should be subject to the policy issued by the headquarters. The current rights and interests of Angel Wheel and group customers will basically remain unchanged. .
In response to the transfer of angel round quotas on Xianyu, Zhiji's official customer service stated that the angel round quota does not support third-party resale. In order to avoid the situation of resale, Zhiji officials have restricted the modification of mobile phone numbers.
That is to say, if the user needs to modify the mobile phone number, he is only allowed to modify other mobile phone numbers verified by his real name. This is also to avoid the situation of selling angel rounds and A round quotas.
“If any profit, illegal profit, transfer or transfer of angel wheel user rights, placing orders on behalf of any other circumstances beyond the official and reasonable scope of personal use occur because of these rights and interests in the later period, we have the right to terminate the order, cancel the transaction, and suspend the interruption of the user. Measures for rights and interests." The customer service explained that someone had already purchased an angel round quota on Xianyu.
Zhiji Auto admitted in a statement that it has indeed launched a group customer policy for the employees of the founding shareholder, which is also a common method for major auto manufacturers to purchase in-app purchases from affiliated group users.
However, there is no binding relationship between the rights and interests of group customers and the rights and interests of angel round and A round users.
In response to the issue that consumers are most concerned about Zhiji Auto's "group user rights surpassing Angel Wheel users' rights and interests", Li Sheng, a lawyer from a law firm in Dalian, said in an interview with reporters that if Zhiji Auto and the car buyer clearly agreed in the car purchase contract that "angels" If the user's rights and interests level or content of rights and interests of "wheel" users are not fulfilled or promised in the follow-up, consumers can file a lawsuit, or complain to the consumer association to protect their rights.
"Assuming that Zhiji Auto has a statement in the car purchase contract that 'the rights and interests of other subsequent car booking users will not be able to surpass the rights and interests of Angel Wheel users', then when the rights and interests of Angel Wheel users are exceeded, Zhiji Auto may be in breach of contract. problem." Li Sheng said as an example.
After checking the "Zhiji Auto Angel Card Instructions" and "Zhiji Auto Booking Letter of Intent", the reporter did not find any statement similar to "the rights and interests of other car booking users in the future will not exceed the rights and interests of Angel Wheel users".
However, in the view of Liu Zhichao, an analyst in the automotive industry, under normal circumstances, in the field of business and financing, the angel round is often the part with the most equity and the greatest later benefit.
Liu Zhichao told reporters: "Especially at the very beginning of Zhiji Auto, it also bound Angel Wheel users with the concepts of 'scarcity and exclusive enjoyment' and 'limited to 3,000 seats'. It is easy for consumers to think that Angel Wheel users must be the best. Affordable and affordable.”
He admitted that it is precisely because of this reason that many consumers choose to become Angel Wheel users of Zhiji Auto, but the current sense of gap is unacceptable to many people.
"This way of 'drawing a big cake' for users will hurt those consumers who like and support the brand, which will have a negative impact on the brand reputation and the future development of the company."
"Every detail in the description of Zhiji Auto Angel Card is to protect the rights and interests of Zhiji rather than consumers. For example, there is a clause in the contract: if the rules published later conflict with this description, the subsequent rules shall prevail." Lu Jun said , "No one knows how long Zhiji can go. If the original promise is not fulfilled now, how to protect the rights and interests of consumers?"
Exaggerated promises are not fulfilled, and the "low cost of untrustworthiness" is the main reason for car companies
On May 8, an "Angel Wheel" user found that the actual battery degree of Zhiji L7 did not match the publicity.
Zhiji officially advertises that the Zhiji L7 is equipped with a 93kWh battery, but the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declares that it is 90kWh, while the actual car is 89.9kWh.
In this regard, Zhiji Auto responded that there are currently two sets of standards related to battery power: one set is the standard used when testing the energy density of battery systems, that is, the "Test Method for Technical Indicators Related to Power Batteries and Fuel Cells", usually according to the "0.33C discharge rate" ” (3-hour discharge battery power) for testing; the other set is the standard used when the vehicle is declared, namely “Electrical Performance Requirements and Test Methods for Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles”, according to the “1C discharge rate” (1 hour discharge battery power) )carry out testing.
The data difference between the two is caused by different battery power test methods, and the cruising range and other important performance parameters corresponding to the Zhiji L7 battery have not changed.
"The official statement of Zhiji is unreasonable, after all, there is only one set of national standards." Lu Jun believes.
In this regard, Zhiji Auto said that it has recognized the lack of rigor in its work, explained it in the Zhiji App, and accepted user suggestions.
In the future, a unified data caliber will be adopted and the relevant test standards and remarks will be clearly announced, and the external publicity materials will be optimized so that everyone can understand the product information of Zhiji L7 more clearly.
At the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, the relevant person in charge of Zhiji Automobile described the technical highlights of Zhiji L7 at the press conference. The most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the standard wireless charging technology of Zhiji L7.
However, on the configuration table published later, the car owner found that the wireless charging receiver on the car needs to spend 6,000 yuan to choose.
In this regard, Zhiji Automobile retorted that Zhiji Automobile has not promised that "wireless charging configuration" is standard in any public promotion occasion, but only shows that Zhiji L7 has the technical ability of wireless charging.
The reporter can clearly hear the statement of the person in charge of the scene from a short video released on April 21, 2021 by the official account of Zhiji Auto Douyin - "IM Zhiji Auto": "mass production of 'standard' wireless charging technology , support 11kW high-power wireless charging."
However, the video has now been removed, and the reason for the removal is unknown.
In addition to wireless charging technology, Lu Jun said that the reduction of Zhiji L7 includes: 21+6 piston calipers become 20+4 piston calipers; 12 high-definition cameras have been reduced to 11; 5 fifth-generation millimeter-wave radars have been reduced It is made up of 4; the ventilation of the front seats is reduced to the ventilation of the backrest; the kick-type electric tailgate becomes an electric tailgate, etc.
Yu Yang told reporters that the "reduction" time will appear in March 2022, and Zhiji announced the configuration table of the angel wheel.
At that time, he did not pay attention to it carefully, and directly paid 5,000 yuan to lock the order.
The reporter saw in the "Book of Intent for Zhiji Automobile" that the "pre-sale configuration and final configuration" is described as follows: the content of this letter of intent and the pre-sale configuration do not constitute a unilateral promise or unilateral commitment by Zhiji Company to the information of the model you have reserved and other reservation matters. For any promises and guarantees (including but not limited to vehicle name, interior and exterior trim, configuration specifications, product functions, production/delivery dates, etc.), the final configuration must be based on the physical configuration of the final officially launched Zhiji car.
In this regard, Li Sheng reminded: "Consumers must carefully read the various details of the contract before signing a car purchase contract. For paragraphs that are relatively vague or prone to doubts, they should communicate with the seller or car company in time to avoid in Unnecessary trouble after signing the contract."
It is worth noting that the official did not respond to the two focus issues of "unclear conditions for upgrading lidar and high-level energy batteries" and "chaotic management of the official app community".
Especially in the question of "the conditions for upgrading lidar and high-level energy batteries are not clear", car owners mentioned the problem of "rough stone points".
Li Sheng said that if an auto company promises some kind of discount or rights and interests, but does not specify the information such as the time of use and the amount of use in the car purchase contract, it is not clearly agreed.
In this case, if consumers want to realize their rights and interests, they should negotiate with the car companies. If the car companies do not give a reply, then consumers can complain to the consumer association to protect their rights.
In response to this rights protection incident, some "Angel Wheel" car owners said that the government needs to give a reasonable explanation, and cannot deal with the problem by deleting the video evidence of the official press conference, vague words, etc. The car owners not only care about their own rights and interests, but also care about Zhiji's official attitude.
"On the one hand, can the official promises be written in the contract or make a guarantee statement, and the contract cannot all protect the interests of the company. On the other hand, so far, no management has come forward to insult the car owner for the employees. Apologize, this will make people feel that Zhiji is a company with a lack of moral sense." Lu Jun said.
In Liu Zhichao's view, Zhiji Automobile's external publicity is suspected of being deliberately exaggerated, and the rapid changes in configuration and policies have caused many "Angel Wheel" owners to complain.
In addition, in terms of contract terms, Zhiji Auto adopts disclaimers such as "physical configuration as the final basis". For ordinary consumers, even if problems are found, it is difficult for the manufacturer to revise the contract.
Judging from some car rights protection incidents that have occurred in recent years, the "low cost of untrustworthiness" of car companies is the main reason for the difficulty of consumer rights protection.
When promoting products and "fan marketing", car companies often exaggerate and put on a "trust me, that's right" posture, but when the actual product is delivered, there are many reasons to go back on it, and unwilling to take any responsibility.
Consumers in a disadvantaged position are often unable to compete and compete with companies.
An industry insider believes that consumers can "vote with their feet". Even if a dishonest company can exploit legal loopholes, if it always adopts the method of "crossing the river and demolishing the bridge" in the process of enterprise development, it will be backlashed by the market.
We have been talking about corporate social responsibility, and "honesty and trustworthiness" is actually a responsibility.
(At the request of the interviewee, Lu Jun, Yu Yang, and Li Sheng are all pseudonyms in the text.)
China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Zhenqi Trainee reporter Wang Zhiyuan Source: China Youth Daily