On August 21st, according to the Economic Reference Daily, the problem of malfunctioning or even "lock up" steering assistance in the Xiaopeng P7+car continues to ferment, causing consumer concerns and rights protection actions. Car owners have reported that some vehicles still experience the same malfunction after replacing the steering wheel, and some even claim that their vehicles have experienced steering wheel malfunctions multiple times in a short period of time.
Faced with the problem, Xiaopeng Motors headquarters and most after-sales stores have not acknowledged the issue and have not initiated the recall process. The investigation found that Xiaopeng Motors secretly applied sealant to the steering wheel of some vehicles without informing the owners, and concealed the defects through OTA remote online upgrades. In addition, Xiaopeng also replaced the centralized recall by slowly replacing the steering gear, attempting to reduce the number of defective cars and streamline the recall conditions.
During the process of car owners' rights protection, there is a phenomenon of shifting responsibility in many Xiaopeng after-sales stores. For example, Ms. Gan, a car owner in Shenzhen, repeatedly requested to replace the steering wheel but was refused. The after-sales service stated that the vehicle could not be replaced until it had malfunctioned. When Mr. Lan, a car owner from Guangzhou, requested a replacement of the steering wheel, the store did not verify the situation and only stated that the delivery time of the accessories was uncertain.
Industry insiders pointed out that Xiaopeng Motors' practice of concealing defects and replacing parts is suspected of resisting the national automobile recall policy, posing challenges to the recall and production consistency supervision of intelligent connected new energy vehicles.
