2018 First Quarter Automotive Complaint Analysis Report

I. Overview of complaint data in the first quarter of 2018

According to the data from the quality network of the leading domestic defective automobile product information collection platform, 20860 cases of consumer complaints about automobile products were received in the first quarter of 2018, which created a new record for the volume of complaints in the car quality network, which is a new record in comparison with 2017. The quarter rose 29.9%, a sharp increase of 88.1% year-on-year. According to statistics, this quarter's complaints involved a total of 702 car brands under the 153 auto brands, an increase of 4 brands and 11 cars.

Judging from the monthly complaint data in the first quarter of 2018, there were 7,056 complaints received in January, 5,015 complaints received in February, and 8,789 complaints received in March. In 2018, the number of collective complaints in the domestic auto market, especially the increase in motor oil and the unreasonable recall plan, were the focus of the two complaints involving many vehicles. This was also the main reason for the record volume of complaints in the first quarter. Correspondingly, the average daily volume of complaints has also come to 232 cases, an increase of 67% from 139 in 2017.

Overall, the complaints in the first quarter presented the following characteristics:

1. There have been many incidents of collective complaints, and the problem of consistency defects has increased. The complaints in the quarter were more concentrated, which was mainly reflected in the problems of “more oil,” “unreasonable recall plan,” and “design flaws,” especially the first two. The number of brands involved and the breadth of models were rare. In addition, the manner in which related companies handle problems is not properly handled, resulting in high consumer complaints and gradual evolution into multiple collective complaints. This to a certain extent shows that the awareness of rights protection of domestic auto consumers is constantly increasing, and the means of safeguarding rights are becoming more mature and rational. At the same time, it also reflects the problems faced by domestic auto companies, and only timely research on consumer demand and efforts to meet consumer products The appeal of product quality and after-sales service is the fundamental reason for the reduction of customer complaints.

2. The volume of complaints in the first quarter increased year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, reaching the highest point of the volume of complaints in the past three quarters. At the same time, the number of complaints from January to March exceeded 5,000, of which the amount of complaints in March exceeded 8,000 records, a year-on-year increase from the previous quarter.

3. Comparing with other national brands, the volume of complaints of joint venture brands in the first quarter rose the most, which was an increase of 48.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 and an increase of more than 1.1 times year-on-year. Duplicate defects in product consistency are currently the biggest problems faced by joint venture brands. Whether or not they can be properly resolved still needs to start with the owner’s appeal and fundamentally solve the problem.

4. In the first quarter, the quality problems, service problems and the number of complaints on comprehensive issues all showed a large increase, of which the quality problem increased by 4106 compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, which was a 31.1% increase from the previous quarter. It can be seen that the current domestic auto market product quality issues can not be ignored, and the diversity of complaints should also be taken seriously.

5. In the first quarter, the volume of complaints for compact cars and SUV models broke the historical record. Among them, the SUV model became the highest complaint volume in this quarter, and the relevant complaints exceeded 10,000 cases, creating the highest record of single-model quarterly complaints in the history of car quality network, which was a sharp increase of 83.6%.

Second, the first quarter of 2018 complaint data analysis

(I) Distribution of consumer complaints population

In the first quarter of 2018, the ratio of consumer complaints for men and women was 89.5:10.5. Male complaints accounted for a slight decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Judging from the age distribution, complaints are still concentrated among consumers aged 26-30 years, but they have decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Consumers aged between 36-40 years accounted for the proportion of complaints in the first quarter. Have risen. In terms of age, the proportions of complaints for 1-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months are all significantly higher than those of the previous quarter, and the proportion of these three vehicle age segments is close to 50%. The quality problem has gradually become prominent and has become the subject of complaints.

(II) Analysis of quarterly changes in complaints

As shown in the figure, the car quality network has received more than 10,000 complaints for nine consecutive quarters. The quarterly volume of complaints in the past year has shown a stepwise growth trend. The volume of complaints in the first quarter of 2018 broke the 20,000 mark and once again refreshed. Car quality network quarterly record of the highest record.

(III) Analysis of changes in monthly complaints

Specifically, the number of complaints in each month of the first quarter witnessed a significant year-on-year increase, and the year-on-year growth rate increased significantly compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, with the largest year-on-year increase of 104.6% in January.

(D), brand type complaints analysis

In the first quarter of 2018, the volume of complaints of the three types of brands all increased in different degrees compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Among them, the largest increase in joint venture brands, rose 48.6%, accounting for more than 50% of the total complaints. In contrast, complaints from self-owned brands increased by 14.3% month-on-month, but the percentage decreased by 6 percentage points; both complaints and proportions of complaints from imported brands decreased.

(V) Analysis of brand country complaints

In the first quarter of 2018, the amount of self-owned brand complaints was still far ahead of other national brands, and the volume of complaints rose by nearly 14.3%. It is worth mentioning that as the Japanese brands Honda, Nissan and Toyota successively broke out collective complaints, the Japanese brand's volume of complaints in the first quarter skyrocketed by 2.7 times. In addition, except for the decrease in the number of complaints from the US-based brands, the complaints of other brands in other countries have increased.

(VI) Analysis of Complaints

In the first quarter of 2018, the focus of complaints was on SUV models. The number of related complaints exceeded 10,000 cases and surged by 83.6% from the previous quarter, creating a new record for quarterly complaints for SUV models. The volume of complaints soared and the first quarter of Dongfeng Honda's SUV models and Changan CS75 were related to the "oil increase" incident. In contrast, the compact car also created a quarterly volume of complaints, and the amount of complaints related to it rose slightly from the fourth quarter of 2017.

(VII) Analysis of Regional Distribution of Complaints

In the first quarter of 2018, complaints received by Car Quality Network remained concentrated in Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces, ranking the same as in the fourth quarter of 2017. Among them, the complaint volume in Guangdong Province and Jiangsu Province was relatively close with a year-on-year increase. In Shandong Province, which ranked third, the number of complaints in the first quarter still exceeded 1,000, and the proportion remained basically unchanged. It is worth noting that the highest number of complaints in these three regions is that of “more oil.”

(VIII) Analysis of complaint types

The proportion of complaints on auto quality issues in the first quarter increased significantly compared with the previous quarter, rising by 31.1% from the fourth quarter of 2017 and accounting for a percentage increase. In addition, the volume of complaints on service issues and comprehensive issues also rose in comparison, with 26.3% and 23.3%, respectively.

(9) Analysis of types of complaints on quality issues

In quality complaints in the first quarter of 2018, affected by the “accelerator” incident, the engine replaced the body accessories and electrical appliances as the most plausible quality issue, which has soared by nearly 1.6 times from the previous month; the body accessories and appliances ranked second. The number of complaints was 7830, down 19.6% month-on-month; transmission problems fell to third place, and the number of complaints also fell. The data shows that due to the continuous impact of Honda's "accelerator" incident that broke out in 2018, the problem of "excessive oil consumption" has spread to certain models under Changan Automobile and Beijing Hyundai. As the affected models either have no substantive progress or are unreasonable in the recall plan, the amount of complaints remains high. In the top 20 typical failures in the first quarter, "oil increase" ranked first without any suspense, and 5,178 complaints accounted for nearly 30% of the top 20 typical failures. In addition, the “oil emulsification” problem re-entered the top 20 typical failures of the quarterly quality problem two years in a row, involving 682 complaints, ranking eighth.

(X) Analysis of types of complaints about service issues

In the first quarter of 2018, service-related complaints ranked top in the list in terms of service attitude. The number of related complaints exceeded a thousand, which was a 2.8-fold increase from the fourth quarter of 2017. The reason for this is that in the first quarter, there was a surge in complaints related to “unreasonable recall plans” and “design defects”, which were also related to the collective complaints that occurred in the three major Japanese brands. In the second-ranking service attitude, the number of complaints in the first quarter also exceeded 1,000, but it was slightly lower than in the fourth quarter of 2017. After a horizontal comparison among countries, it was found that the highest percentage of complaints in other issues was Japanese brands, which accounted for 70.2% of the total, which was far higher than that of other national brands. The country brands with the highest percentage of complaints about service attitudes fell again. To the European brand.

(11) Analysis of complaint response rate

As one of the leading defective vehicle product information collection platforms in China, one of the ultimate goals of Car Quality Network is to build a channel to coordinate the smooth resolution of disputes between manufacturers and consumers. Therefore, whether or not manufacturers take consumer complaints seriously and actively provide solutions is an indicator that we value very much.

In the first quarter of 2018, there were a total of 46 factories with a complaint response rate of 90% or more, a decrease of 4 companies from the previous quarter and a year-on-year rate. Among them, there were 35 manufacturers who reported a 100% response rate, an increase of 7 from the previous quarter, which was flat year-on-year. As shown in the above table, the attitudes and importance of the positive attitudes of the manufacturers on the list of consumers are worth encouraging.

(12) Analysis of complaints satisfaction

After receiving the complaint, the manufacturer gives the corresponding solution and makes a reply, which represents the importance of the manufacturer's attention to the consumer's appeal. However, whether the problem is really solved and whether consumers are satisfied with it, the response rate cannot directly draw an equal sign. In the first quarter of 2018, the average score of satisfaction ratings of all brands was 2.6 points, which was a decrease of 0.1 points from the fourth quarter of 2017. There were 30 satisfaction scores above the average, which was a decrease of 2 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. As shown in the above table, the attitude and solutions of the above car companies in the first quarter of 2018 have been approved by consumers.

Third, the first quarter of 2018 complaints and failure analysis

As mentioned above, in the first quarter of 2018, quality complaints were mainly concentrated in engines, body accessories, and electrical and transmission systems. However, issues such as rusted bodies, abnormal steering noise, and abnormal brake sounds were also worthy of attention. The following The analysis of typical complaints this quarter.

1, engine complaint analysis

According to the data, in the first quarter of 2018, the number of self-owned brand brands still accounted for the highest percentage in the complaints of engine failures in other countries. However, compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, it has dropped by 11%. In contrast, in the first quarter, the proportion of Japanese brand engine fault complaints surged, which represents an increase of 30 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2017. In engine failure complaints, the number of complaints on increased oil issues ranked first in terms of absolute advantage, and 5,178 complaints exceeded the sum of the remaining four issues in the TOP5 failure. The number of complaints about the increase in oil in the first quarter has increased sharply, mainly in some Japanese brands and certain self-owned brands selling SUV models. Due to improper disposal of enterprises in the later period, the volume of complaints has remained high. In addition, the engine oil emulsification problem was selected for the TOP 5 engine failure for the first time, and the majority of the 682 complaints were concentrated in several hot SUV models of a Japanese brand. The number of complaints of abnormal engine noise, oil leakage, and jitter has increased by a certain extent compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.

2, transmission complaints analysis

In the first quarter of 2018, the problem of transmission abnormal sound was still the largest. The number of complaints reached 1468, a decrease of 12.3% from the previous quarter. The number of complaints about gearbox stalls decreased from the fourth quarter of 2017 but still exceeded 1,000. In addition, the amount of complaints on oil spills and shakes also increased by a certain extent compared with the previous quarter, and jumped to the third and fifth position of the TOP5 gearbox failure.

From a country perspective, the proportion of self-owned brand complaints is still the largest, but it has dropped by 10 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2017 (60%), and the proportion of Japanese and German brands has increased by 3 and 4 percentage points respectively. From a typical failure point of view, transmission leakage in the first quarter of 2018 was the largest month-on-month increase, up 32.8% from the fourth quarter of 2017. Such problems are mainly concentrated in some self-owned brand SUV models and some American-branded sedan models.

3, clutch complaint analysis

According to the data from the car quality network, the number of complaints about clutch abnormal sound in the first quarter of 2018 reached 294, a decrease of 11.2% compared with the previous cycle, which is still the most typical type of clutch failure. Analyzed from a country-specific perspective, complaints from independent brands accounted for 63%, which was an increase of 8 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2017 (55%). Complaints of other brands in other countries accounted for the same proportion as in the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase in the proportion of self-owned brand clutch complaints was mainly due to the increase in complaints of clutch abnormal noise in some self-owned brand hot SUV models. As previously reported, the issue of semi-clutch abnormal noise in manual lock-ups of certain US-based joint venture brands has not been properly resolved during the quarter, resulting in a constant proportion of US-based brand complaints, and still maintaining a relatively high proportion. It is worth noting that the clutch burn problem still occurs in the TOP5 clutch fault, and the amount of complaints has increased again, which is 5 more cases than in the fourth quarter of 2017. The fault is mainly concentrated on a self-owned brand hot SUV model.

4, steering system complaint analysis

The data shows that in the first quarter of 2018, the steering system complaints mainly focused on abnormal sound problems, and 606 complaints rose slightly by 6.9% from the fourth quarter of 2017. In addition, the problem of steering stuck has increased significantly compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, up 52.2% month-on-month; steering wheel problems have replaced steering failures into TOP5 failures, and related complaints have been concentrated in some self-owned brand SUV models. Subdivided into countries, the proportion of self-owned brand complaints is still significantly ahead of other national brands, which represents a 1 percentage point increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. In contrast, the proportion of US-based brands dropped by 5 percentage points, and Korean brands increased by 4 percentage points.

5, brake system complaints analysis

In the first quarter of 2018, the problem of brake abnormality was still one of the main complaints of the brake system, and there were 626 complaints, which was 17.2% higher than the fourth quarter of 2017. Soft brakes and brake pump fault complaints The complaints grew significantly during the quarter, especially the problem of brake pump failure, which was about 2.4 times higher than in the fourth quarter of 2017. These two issues are mainly concentrated in a self-owned brand SUV model and a Japanese joint venture brand hot SUV, the relevant complaints remain high. The data shows that the complaints of brake failure in the first quarter of 2018 had a slight increase, up 28.3% month-on-month. The failures were mainly concentrated in some self-owned brand SUV models.

6. Complaint analysis of front and rear axles and suspension systems

In the front and rear axle and suspension system complaints, the problem of abnormal sounding of shock absorbers was more prominent. The number of related complaints increased by 251 compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, which was a 45.1% increase from the previous quarter. Most of the problems are concentrated in several self-owned hot-selling SUV models. The specific performance of the model is that when the vehicle is traveling normally across the road, the shock absorber will make a "click" sound and be accompanied by body vibration. In terms of specific countries, the proportion of self-owned brands decreased by 3 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, but the proportion still exceeded 70%, far ahead of other countries' other brands. As the amount of relevant complaints remains high, it can be seen that the suspension problem has become a “common problem” for self-owned brand models.

7, tire complaints analysis

In the first quarter of 2018, the amount of complaints related to tyre problems steadily decreased. The number of tire cracking, skinning and bulging problems in the top three tires all decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. It should be noted that this quarter's proportion of self-owned brand tires exceeds that of US-based brands, and it has become the country brand with the highest percentage of complaints. Over half of the complaints concerned are concentrated in some of the self-owned brand SUV models. In addition, the number of complaints against German brand tires increased by 4 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter of 2017. The complaints were mainly concentrated in the German luxury brand models, which mainly represented the cracking, bulging and puncture of a certain brand of tires.

8, body accessories and electrical complaints analysis

In the first quarter of 2018, the number of complaints concerning body accessories and electrical appliances had decreased. However, the level of complaints remained high. The problem of rust on the body jumped to the top of TOP5 in this quarter, and the amount of related complaints decreased by 27.4% from the fourth quarter of 2017. The problem is still mainly concentrated in the self-owned brand models, mostly in SUV models. For the self-owned brands that are in the rising period, such "low-level" issues should be caused by the relevant companies' reflections and active responses to avoid "losing watermelons and sesame seeds." In addition, the abnormal sound of the center console was selected for the first time in the TOP5 body accessories and electrical faults, and there were more than 300 complaints. The problem was mainly concentrated in the models of some self-owned brands. At the same time, the complaints of a Japanese brand were also prominent. The proportion of Japanese branded body accessories and electrical problems has increased by 4 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2017.