Exclusive-Chinese consumer complaints show widespread padding of car sales figures (Reuters) -A tactic used by Chinese automakers and dealers to inflate car sales has grown increasingly common in recent years in response to a bruising price war in the world’s largest auto market, a Reuters analysis of consumer complaints has found. Earlier this month, Reuters reported EV brands Neta and Zeekr had arranged for cars to be insured before buyers purchased them, a scheme that effectively inflates sales numbers and gives the appearance the companies were hitting periodic targets. But the controversial tactic was not limited to the two companies and was employed elsewhere in the industry, according to a Reuters review of 97 separate consumer complaints published on three widely used Chinese websites. In more than a dozen cases, buyers said they were informed by dealerships that the practice was specifically designed to meet sales targets. The allegations cover some of China’s largest domestic and foreign brands by sales volume, including homegrown champion BYD (SZ:002594) and Toyota (NYSE:TM), Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) and Buick. The three foreign brands operate their China businesses in partnerships with state-owned giants GAC and SAIC Motor Group. While the earliest complaints date back to 2021, the majority were published this year and last as a price war squeezed an industry crucial to China’s export-driven economy. Reuters reviewed complaints posted on 12365auto.com, a third-party site used for consumer dispute resolutions, and two other similar sites. The platforms require owners to verify their identity and submit proof of their allegations. In most of the cases reviewed, the automakers responded publicly, saying they sought to resolve problems. Reuters was not able to independently verify the complaints or their resolutions. It is not clear what portion of China’s car sales were inflated by the insurance scheme. SAIC, which is a China joint venture partner for Volkswagen and Buick-owner General Motors (NYSE:GM), said it is committed to providing users with high-quality and standardised sales services but did not elaborate. The practice effectively disguises how much inventory automakers actually held, said Yale Zhang, managing director at consultancy Automotive Foresight. "That could lead to a misjudgment of monthly demand within the industry and result in increased production scheduling," Zhang said. CONSUMER ANGER Between 2021 and 2025, 48 separate buyers said on 12365auto.com that they purchased new cars only to later discover they were already insured by the dealer. Many of the buyers said they felt deceived by the dealerships, especially when they realised the insurance on their cars was registered in other names. Likewise, there were 26 separate complaints published between 2021 and 2025 on the China.com 315 auto consumer complaint platform, run by the state-owned China Internet Information Center. Another 23 were posted between 2022 and 2025 on Black Cat, a widely used consumer complaint platform run by tech firm Sina (BitStamp:SINA). In 14 complaints on the three platforms, buyers of BYD-, Neta-, Toyota-, Buick- and Chevrolet-branded cars said they were told by dealers the practice was aimed at booking sales early to meet targets. One complaint, filed in December against a SAIC GM dealer on 12365auto.com, alleged the automaker required 60 cars to be insured without buyers to meet sales targets. Another complaint on China.com filed in April alleged a BYD store in Shaanxi told a buyer it had 12 cars insured in a batch to inflate sales last July. Buyers of Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Changan, FAW-Volkswagen and Geely also reported cars being insured pre-purchase. A Volkswagen Group China spokesperson said it refused to boost sales figures through insurance and that complaints would be investigated. DEALER COMPLAINTS Separately, Reuters identified 29 official media reports from 2020 to 2025 that detailed complaints against dealers of major brands, including BYD and Changan and foreign brands Volkswagen, GM, Toyota, Nissan (OTC:NSANY) and Honda (NYSE:HMC), run by their joint ventures with state-owned Chinese automakers. The media outlets, across 15 provinces and cities, are controlled and owned by the regional governments. In nine cases, dealers representing FAW Hongqi, SAIC Roewe, SAIC VW, Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Toyota, GAC Honda and SAIC GM told official media that insuring unsold vehicles was for booking purchases early to meet sales targets. A Honda spokesperson said that GAC Honda prohibits dealers from taking out compulsory insurance before selling new cars and that any dealers found doing so would be dealt with severely. FAW Hongqi said it does not use insurance plans to pre-confirm sales and any such activity was not official company action. GM China said it does not require wholesale vehicles to be insured pre-purchase and that it counts deliveries, not insurance, in its sales reports. BYD, GAC Toyota, Geely, Changan, Nissan and Li Auto did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters also identified five articles published by Chinese courts between March 2023 and March 2025 about consumers taking dealers to court for concealing pre-purchase car insurance. In three of those, the court ruled for the buyers who demanded compensation. Verdicts for the other two were not publicised. ’ZERO MILEAGE’ Vehicles booked as sold before reaching buyers are called "zero-mileage used cars" in China. The practice emerged out of the cut-throat competition as the market deals with a years-long price war caused by chronic overcapacity. More than 100 car brands are competing intensely to survive consolidation, deepening pressure to bolster sales and take market share. Analysts and investors that track the industry use two sets of data. Wholesale figures reported by automakers to the industry association show sales from automakers to dealers, while retail data compiled from mandatory traffic insurance registrations show the number of sales to users. Accusations of selling cars with existing insurance policies date back to 2016 when a Cadillac buyer told a regional radio programme he found the car was insured before his purchase. The practice appears to have picked up after the price war started in early 2023, when several brands led by Li Auto started posting weekly sales rankings on social media based on insurance registrations. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has criticised such postings as unreliable and this month blamed them for intensifying "vicious" competition.

Click Subscribe #CarSales #ConsumerComplaints #ChinaAutomobile #MarketWatch #SalesFigures

Click Subscribe #Xiaomi #ElectricSUV #ChinaAutomobile #EVMarket #SustainableTransportation

VW Group pitches comeback in China with new models, in-house assisted driving SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Volkswagen Group showcased five new models developed for China and an in-house assisted driving system on Tuesday in Shanghai as it fights to win back share in the fiercely competitive market. The new models include new VW cars and a new Audi range for the Chinese market. The German carmaker also plans to start exporting VW cars from China, aiming to sell some models in other Asian markets, South America and the Middle East, its China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said at an event ahead of the Shanghai auto show starting on Wednesday. The VW brand presented three of its upcoming models at Tuesday’s event. None are ready yet for mass production but are part of the group’s plans to regain ground as foreign carmakers are losing market share in China, the world’s biggest auto market, to a swathe of domestic manufacturers. One, built by VW’s joint venture with China’s state-owned FAW, is the first model to be based on a new China-specific platform, the CMP, designed to reduce costs for entry-level smaller vehicles by 40%. Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), once the top seller of passenger cars in China, lost its crown to Chinese EV maker BYD (SZ:002594) last year after its sales slipped by 9.5% to just under 2.93 million cars, well below BYD’s 3.84 million. Its market share in the country fell from 19% in 2019 to 14.5% last year. Volkswagen’s premium Audi brand is fighting back with a range of new longer versions of its models designed for the Chinese market, where wealthier consumers with chauffeurs often sit in the back of their cars. On Tuesday, it also showcased the first vehicle of a new model line with a different logo from its famous four rings in a bid to win back sales. The new model line, simply named AUDI in capital letters, will be targeted at younger consumers. Its first car for mass production, the E5 Sportback, will be built on a platform from its joint venture partner SAIC, a Chinese state-owned carmaker, and priced below the German automaker’s other models. CARIZON, a joint venture between Volkswagen’s software subsidiary Cariad and China’s Horizon Robotics, demonstrated the carmaker’s first in-house automated driving system, to be integrated into one of its cars this year. A more advanced version system will be available in its entry-level cars from 2026. CHINA EXPORTS Volkswagen’s plans to start exporting some VW models from China come as carmakers in China, including Volkswagen, are grappling with how to make use of unused production capacity as annual demand for cars has stagnated at around 22 million cars since 2019. "It is fully clear that VW will not export to the U.S. or Europe (from China) except for the Tavascan. But other markets are open like Asian markets, South America and the Middle East," Brandstaetter said. "They are open to products from China. We have competitive models and we are approaching doing export from China to these regions." He did not say which models would be exported from China. Alongside the CMP, Volkswagen also plans a new vehicle platform in China without the help of a joint venture partner for both battery-electric cars and EVs equipped with so-called range extenders, a small combustion engine which adds extra range. "You can’t predict what the share of each type of EV will be in 2030. We need to adapt our platforms to provide this flexibility," Brandstaetter said, adding that the ingredients for success in China included assisted driving capabilities, cost management and flexibility in drivetrains. "There is no reason why Volkswagen can’t be as fast and as competitive as a Chinese startup with this approach," he said.

Click Subscribe #VWGroup #ElectricVehicles #ChinaAutomobile #InHouseDriving #CarModels

China’s BYD signs car parts distribution agreement in Italy (Reuters) - Chinese electric automaker BYD (SZ:002594) said on Friday it signed a car parts distribution deal with Italian company Intergea, as part of its strategy to boost its presence in a key European market. Chinese auto producers are looking to boost sales in Europe while their domestic market slows down, counting on their advantage on EV technology, and setting up manufacturing and assembly plants in the region. Under the partnership announced on Friday, original BYD car parts will be made available within 48 hours throughout Italy by CRF, a unit of Intergea, starting from May. The deal is a "key step towards breaking the preconception about the difficulty of finding spare parts for Asian vehicles, an issue often perceived as an obstacle to purchase." BYD said in its statement. BYD had said in March it aims to double its sales outside China to more than 800,000 cars in 2025.

Click Subscribe #BYD #ChinaAutomobile #CarParts #Italy #BusinessNews