Editorial: The Media Onslaught on China’s Quality Report
A “report” initially published by Gasgoo has been widely circulated around the Internet. As a result, we have been graced with punchlines such as “Chinese automakers still can’t lick quality problems” from USAToday, and also Autoblog‘s “Chinese car quality complaints on the rise”.
Because there’s nothing like good, old fashioned China bashing, right? Unfortunately, due to the lack of ethics or pure laziness from these so-called “journalists,” it’s up to CCT to debunk the myths and right the wrongs. Instead of making further research or using common sense, it’s easier for a quick, dirty and cheap sneer at Chinese automakers.
According to Gasgoo’s report, “Complaints about cars that had quality problems within six months from the day of purchase accounted for more than 60 percent of all the complaints in the first quarter, up 9 percent” and “complaints over safety risks and carmakers’ production defects rose nearly 15 percent”.
The first logical fallacy of the argument resides in the fact that China’s car sales have gone up by astounding rates of over 60% year-on-year. It is obvious that with an increase in sales, there is going to be an increase in the number of complaints. In fact, if sales are up by more than the complaints, it’s indicative of an improvement in quality. Regardless, yours truly went to the bottom of this and read the original report published by CAQ, the China Association for Quality. The report is here (in Chinese).
Perhaps the most interesting observation is on page 6; the manufacturers against which the complaints were lodged. Foreign automakers (producing cars under joint-ventures in China) account for 81.2% of the complaints, up from 78.1% in 2009. Indigenous Chinese automakers are down to 15.8%, from 17.2% in 2009. Surprised? The best is yet to come: foreign cars have a market share of 50-60% in China. 81.2% is way disproportionate with this number.
Finally, the report concludes its analysis with customer satisfaction on the resolution of the complaints. The best ranked automakers were: Shanghai Volkswagen, Chang’an Ford, Geely, Great Wall Motors and Hafei. What automaker with major participation in China is conspicuously missing from this list? I’ll give you a hint: It’s a company that filed for bankruptcy and still owes over 50 billions dollars to American taxpayers, in spite of their claims that the loans were “paid”. (Yes, I know it’s equity).
Conclusions:
- Common sense tells us that complaints will rise with rising sales
- Foreign automakers account for the majority of the complaints
- Statistical analysis can’t be made in a vacuum. There are many other factors are in play.
For example, Chinese consumers are getting more savvy and demanding.
That’s why critical thinking skills are necessary when reading the news. More so when writing them.
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When commenting on Brilliance leaving Europe, an article quoted “unnamed” annalists and executives as saying that with all the world wide protectionism caused by the global recession, the Chinese auto makers should concentrate on their own booming market, and leave the rest of the world alone. Nice try!
This same advise was given to the Japanese and the Koreans once upon a time. We know that every attempt will be made to attack quality advances made by the Chinese industry, because it was all done to other Asian manufacturers in the past. Western manufacturers want to take profits from the Chinese market, but dread the thought of the Chinese industry selling in their back yard. Manipulating quality statistics is a great way to spread fear among western consumers.
I could do a scathing rant on what happened to Brilliance in Europe. The whole situation was disgusting.
In fact, I had one on the zero star rating given to the BS4:
http://www.i3china.net/bs4
When Great Wall’s cars sold in Australia received poor safety ratings by the A-NCAP, the media was all over it. Well, their X240 SUV (Hover) got 4 stars this time, the same rating as a Toyota Camry which was tested in the same batch.
Let’s see how the media reacts to this…
Bad news sells better then good news, unfortunately…
@ santos palisander
> the Chinese auto makers should concentrate on their own booming market, and leave the rest of the world alone. Nice try!
Actually this is a very wise advice that Chinese automakers should listen to; they stand to make more money staying home than throwing away billions to come to America and Europe.
> This same advise was given to the Japanese and the Koreans once upon a time.
Japanese and Korean automakers received no such advise from the American and European auto experts at that time.
> because it was all done to other Asian manufacturers in the past.
Japan, never. Japanese car meant “quality” already back in the 70s and they were selling for quality and fuel efficiency, not prices(Americans were already undercutting Japanese prices in the 70s, a fact that may shock Chinese nationalists here. But how do I know? My university had an entire collection of back issues of Car&Driver and Motor Trend, and Japanese cars already cost more than American cars from the ads).
Korea, for a while yes and rightly so. Korea then became a quality-oriented society in the 90s and no one complains about Korean quality anymore.
> Manipulating quality statistics is a great way to spread fear among western consumers.
Western consumer’s impression of Chinese quality isn’t formed overnight, but an accumulation of little things like $20 Chinese shoes and $2 screw drivers that goes broke in a week.
> Actually this is a very wise advice that Chinese automakers should listen to; they stand to make more money staying home than throwing away billions to come to America and Europe.
It depends on your definition of “wise”. For the short term? Maybe. Long term? Stupid.
> Japan, never. Japanese car meant “quality” already back in the 70s and they were selling for quality and fuel efficiency
Japanese cars were more fuel-efficient, but only because they were underpowered (a reason why they were dissed).
> Western consumer’s impression of Chinese quality isn’t formed overnight, but an accumulation of little things like $20 Chinese shoes and $2 screw drivers that goes broke in a week.
The tag “Made in Japan” once carried the same stigma the “Made in China” carries today. So did “Made in Korea”. Now, why are there $20 Chinese shoes and $2 screwdrivers that go broke in a week? Because there’s a market for it. If American cheapskates didn’t buy such things, China wouldn’t make them.
I will go further and say China’s products have the best quality. Why? Because they offer the best quality for their price. Stop complaining America, and show the Chinese how it’s done. Go ahead and make $2 screwdrivers that last a lifetime.
@ Analyst
> For the short term? Maybe. Long term?
For both short term and long term.
> Japanese cars were more fuel-efficient, but only because they were underpowered
That didn’t matter in the 70s, when the drivers faced a long line at the gas station.
> The tag “Made in Japan” once carried the same stigma the “Made in China” carries today.
Not at all.
You have to understand that Japan of 1940s were more advanced than China of 1980s; Japan after all was an empire that was waging a world war against the world, a feat not even China could replicate today.
Japanese industry was already fully developed by 40s; they recovered during 50s, then was ready to take on the world again by 60s. This is the reason for the reputation of Japanese quality in the west; hardly any Japan-produced junks entered western markets.
> So did “Made in Korea”.
They stopped exporting junks in the 90s.
> why are there $20 Chinese shoes and $2 screwdrivers that go broke in a week? Because there’s a market for it.
And do you not realize what that $2 screw driver is doing to Chna’s reputation? To westerners, China means junk, everything. It is that bad experience from a $2 Chinese screw driver that makes someone never consider a $20,000 Chinese car.
> Go ahead and make $2 screwdrivers that last a lifetime.
Well, American screw drivers used to be passed down from father to son.
> Japanese industry was already fully developed by 40s; they recovered during 50s, then was ready to take on the world again by 60s
That’s definitely not true. The Japanese industry recovered during the 50s (thanks to American help), and was exporting cheap junk to the world by the 60s. They only shifted their focus to quality rather than price in the 70s and 80s.
> And do you not realize what that $2 screw driver is doing to Chna’s reputation? To westerners, China means junk, everything. It is that bad experience from a $2 Chinese screw driver that makes someone never consider a $20,000 Chinese car.
Of course I realize that, but there’s no end in sight for that. However, that’s not terribly important. The average Joe is totally clueless as to where their cars come from. As long as they don’t fly the Chinese flag (which would be incredibly stupid), they will be fine (of course they need quality products as well).
Proof of that is this AP poll (March 2010). Question 13 asks:
“In general, which country produces the best cars?”
China is at 3% , up from 2% in 2006. South Korea remains at 1%.
> Well, American screw drivers used to be passed down from father to son.
That’s irrelevant to the question. Can they mass produce them at $2 a piece and retain quality?
Sorry, I don’t care “how good it is for $2.” That’s a lousy metric when it needs to be good for a long time period. Not simply the best cheap piece of crap that can’t be used for more than once. Yo’rue right, the American mass produced screwdriver won’t retain any quality at $2 either. But if I’m going to bey a screwdriver, I’m not going to spend $2, get two uses out of it, then say, well, it was pretty good for $2! Why build low quality garbage at an ultra low price, just to get it out the door at a low price? How is there any pride in that?
And considering complaints in the Chinese car market… How many people in the higher end models have had other cars to compare with to know to complain? Probably quite a few. How many buying dirt cheap versions with low quality have anything to compare it to? Not many. And if they, like you, are figuring “well, I guess that’s all you get when you spend this little,” then of course they won’t complain EVEN IF the quality is garbage, because they don’t expect much quality for the low price. Which reinforces delivering low quality at a low price.
And of course, how often do low income Chinese complain about what they’ve recieved? Does China have a history of complaining about things they’ve bought?
> Sorry, I don’t care “how good it is for $2.” …
Well, if nobody bought the $2 screwdrivers, China wouldn’t make them. The only reason they make them is because there is a market for them.
As for the rest of it, that’s only speculation. That’s why analysis made in a vacuum (like USAToday and Autoblog did) is sophomoric to say the least. Especially when they don’t have half the data.
Actually they will complain, as seen with GM, Toyota, HP, and Samsung. No matter how stupid you think Chinese consumers are, they are not.
China Association for Quality is a feckless arm of the state. They had been sitting on their haunches until the Toyota debacle and then were told by the suits to get cranking. I wouldn’t give much credence to their findings. What China needs is a non-governmental organization which will champion the consumer and monitor quality objectively.
Brilliance failed in Europe for a number of reasons. The main reasons they failed were:
value – European car makers were making better cars for the same money
choice of engines – Europeans demand diesels and EU regs demand clean Euro V engines
Perceived safety – Brilliance’s launch was ruined by poor safety results
Choice of Brand name – Brilliant?
Brilliance could have done a deal with MG Rover to get into Europe. They should have done.
I have this report half translated – it will be posted next week.
What? You want reason to stand in the way of China-bashing? That’s way too much to ask!
The Sino-Western JV get more complaints them they should in relation to their marketshare. Couldn’t it be that the Chinese consumer buying a Sino-Western car just expects a higher quality, and is easier displeased?
But I do agree with you that sales+60% / complaints+15% = Higher Quality. You won’t find me China-bashing.
Autoblog is written by a bunch of racist clowns. I stop going to that site long time ago. I still use Wired.
CCT did you read an article about how Chinese company are hiring retire Japanese quality engineers?
I think there’s a bunch of former Daewoo engineers working at Chery.
It makes sense.
yeah here the title of the article, “China Carmakers Woo Japan’s Engineers to Gain Exports.”
It seems like the Japanese engineers like to help the Chinese companies too or because they get pay $10,700 a month.
Huatai have a group of former Daewoo workers too.
This is just disgusting. I think I’m going to puke if IHC shows his/her face again. I have seen more than enough China-bashing. If you are just here to bash China, then get out, go somewhere else to post your BS.
“Everything made in China is absolute rubbish and poor quality!!!”
I get this comment a lot from people back home. It’s times like that that I ask them what do the think of the local company (their own people) who gets stuff made to order using cheaper materials and then sells it to them at higher prices so they can make more of a profit??? The Chinese are just making what the customer wants.
You get what you pay for. There are some very high quality products available here if you want to look for them and pay a little extra for them. It’s funny how foreign media view China, then again complete opposite the the local media……
Geely, GWM and Hafei seem to back up their products which is an encouraging sign.
USAToday, now there’s a quality, authoritative piece of serious journalism….not.
The comments here are hilarious. People were upset to see new cars crush like tin cans because it shows those Chinese companies have so little interest in safety that they didn’t perform even one crash test during development.
Real third-party testing uses anonymously sourced vehicles, not manufacturer-supplied “review” models.
Sourcing UHSS steel in China is also a challenge, but will be necessary for US homologation next year. Baosteel is bringing new cap. online, but they tend to fail acceptance testing. Rational people will continue to buy proven models for another decade or two.
That’s a thing of the past. New Chinese cars aren’t great in safety yet, but they are decent.
Want proof? See these crash test videos made by independent agencies outside of China
http://www.youtube.com/user/CAnalyst
Lots of ‘estimated’ ratings there, who is doing the estimating? The crash worthiness cannot be quoted or claimed as ‘good’ until there are offical western crash test results.
Still, interesting video’s that show improvement with a lot less deformation of the passenger compartment, what you don’t see is how far the engine, suspension, pedal box etc has encroached into the foot well’s and any potential injuries that could be caused.
I’ve labeled the agencies on the videos. They are the ones doing the estimations. Namely:
Great Wall X240: A-NCAP (Australia’s NCAP program, follows EuroNCAP guidelines)
Brilliance BS4: TCS, ANWB, ADAC, OAMTC.
Lifan 520 & BYD F3: Russian FSUE NICIAMT lab, following Euro NCAP guidelines (old ones though, I believe)
Geely MK: UK’s VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency).
You are right, in order to know all the details, you’d need to read the original reports. Unfortunately, only the BS4′s and the Great Wall X240′s are available. If anyone can find the other ones, let me know.
By the way, I would post C-NCAP results, but people insist it’s “Communist propaganda” or some stupid stuff like that. but if you cross-reference C-NCAP’s scores with ones done by non-Chinese independent agencies, they are pretty reliable (sometimes even harsher).
Here are some of the scores given by C-NCAP to cars also tested out of China:
Brilliance BS4: 3 stars
BYD F3: 3 stars
Great Wall Hover: 3 stars (the Australian X240 is a new, upgraded Hover)
Lifan 520: 2 stars
You don’t need ratings to see that these cars don’t “crash like tin-cans”.
Yes, China does make cheap, and bad quality products, but that is only a small fraction of what they produce. They also make high quality products, with companies like Lenovo, Haier, Huawei, BYD, and many others. You may not realize this, but if a majority of products China made were low in quality, then your computer, TV, Ipod/Iphone, light bulbs, even (some) furniture would’ve been broken by now. Chinese exports actually have higher quality than Japanese and Korean exports when you compare their export volume to their failure rate, with made-in-Japan quality dropping 85% in the last 3 years.
Lenovo using, Huawei using, TPLink (and Dlink I think too) admin signing in here to say that Ive had no problems with the vast majority of Chinese bought stuff, Ive even been surprised by the quality on a few occasions.
Now if only they could improve the taste of Laoshan beer, Id be king.
Ed. My computer and Ipod are broken now. Both made in China. My chairs are broken, two of my doors and I spent 4 hours yesterday trying to fix my sink and ended up buying 3 different drains because the design sucked on all of them. All Chinese made and Chinese assembled. Not all Chinese companies care about making the highest quality products. There are some that do.
What is even exported from Japan anymore? Hardly anything that you notice other than some of their cars.
The majority of Japanese things I have bought recently have fallen to bits, however the majority of these Japanese products that I have bought have been made in China.
Same experience here, my made-in-Japan MP4 broke within the first month of use, while I’ve never had a problem with my my made-in-China MP4.
I’m sorry to hear your disappointment, but that just may be your luck (I wonder why).
Most iPods are pretty reliable, as for your computer, anything could’ve gone wrong, one little part can cause the whole machine to stop working.
I am hard on computers. Never had any laptop last more than 2 years. They all have been made in China. I don’t remember if my LG laptop was made in China. It held up fine but someone made it into my balcony on the 5th floor at my old home on a rainy night when I was asleep. They liked it quite a bit also I guess.
A couple of my Lenovos are 2004/2005 models, they are mostly relegated to acting as print servers or doorstops these days. I have a Hasee netbook that my wife uses, and a couple of Chinese built Compaq laptops that I currently use for CCT stuff. No quality complaints from any of them.
My current cellphone is a Tmobile unit, but produced by Huawei and is probably one of the most solid built phones ive owned, Ive got a drawer full of broken motorolas and HTC’s!
Ash, try Liquan beer (a Guangxi beer, made in Guilin) – VERY good for the price – kicks butt over a lot of domestic chinese beers.
Here is a funny (though a bit distasteful) story regarding the quality of chinese products – my home stereo is chinese (a company called Qicheng, well respected in China) and about 5 -6 years ago, I got a puppy (since relocated to another family). Anyway, my puppy decided one day to urinate all over my power amplifier…….and after I cleaned it up as best I could (including taking off the cover and attempting to clean the inside) and letting it “dry out”, I was convinced it would never work again. Much to my surprise, it worked fine – for the next FIVE YEARS. In fact it still works, but it’s starting to develop a short in the speaker outputs…..I finally bought a new amplifier this year to replace it.
Other than that, no more comments…..I’m staying out of this one. Good luck on your beer quest Ash!
I keep saying Im going to have a Chinese beer review. Maybe next week!
Should plan that beer review properly Ash and do 1-12 months hard research on which is the best beer in China. Of course if you set some guidelines a few of the folks on here may be willing to help
. Hmmmm, maybe best to do a taxi review at the same time…. not good to drink and drive after all 
count me in, I would be happy to donate some of my time for such a worthy cause!
Oh and on a side note, have you tried Harbin beer? It’s pretty good. Made from where I grew up in.
I knew you were a Dongbei’er. Only Dongbei ren are stark raving mad and will argue till they are blue in the face.
(married to a dongbei ren)
Ive sampled the majority of Chinese beers, and some North Korean ones too.
“Only Dongbei ren are stark raving mad and will argue till they are blue in the face.”
over exaggerating much? lol.
I do have a temper (sometimes), but I am completely different from the description above. I just cannot stand people that trash everything, no matter what the matter is. That’s all.
I wont buy Made in China stuff any more – too high of a failure rate no matter what it is. Went to buy a hedge trimmer this week and looked at a Black & Decker model in the store. The trigger broke in my hands, looked at the motor label – “Made in China” I put it back on the shelf and walked out of the store. Dont be cheap America, if it’s not Made in the USA it’s no good. If we keep buying this China crap no one here is going to have a job. Then, who is going to have the $$ to buy this crap? Any hey Obama, who will be able to pay Federal Tax so you can keep fighting the Afigans. Since 2000, The USA has lost 3.2 million manufacturing jobs and 40,000 facilities. Just think about the countless communities and families who were affected. The Chinese are steeling our patents and flooding us with poor quality and dangerous products, lead paint on children’s toys, poison dog food, poison candy, GE Coffee makers that start fires (thanks WalMart 900,000 sold) Let’s not be stupid, pay the extra dollar and we can all retire well. China cars, what a joke.
Allow me to quote Bertel Schmitt from TTAC:
our power amplifiers are just homebrew stuffs but they are great sounding stuffs’:~