In China, many car repair shops are unable to service new energy vehicles, with the reason being “afraid to repair” becoming one of the factors leading technicians to turn customers away. Recently, a car owner who spent five thousand yuan to have a private technician repair their electric car was sentenced to six months in prison, marking the latest example of Chinese new energy car companies receiving support from the Communist Party’s judicial system.
According to an article published on Tencent’s AC Auto Video Channel, a local high court recently disclosed a case involving two brothers who specialized in repairing automotive circuits. They discovered that the power battery of a certain new energy vehicle company would “lock” after a collision, and the process to “unlock” it was both costly and time-consuming.
Some car owners inquired whether there was a “shortcut” available. After learning about the customer demand, the two brothers used technical means to modify the data of the battery management system in two new energy vehicles.
After the new energy vehicle company discovered the situation, they reported the two brothers for causing distortion in the data collection of the new energy vehicle batteries, affecting the safe operation of the vehicles. In the end, the two were arrested, sentenced to six months in prison, and their illegal gains totaling 5000 yuan were confiscated.
Several issues arising from this case require further exploration: after a car owner pays the full amount for a car, who does the driving data and after-sales service data belong to? While car owners have ownership rights, they are only allowed to seek maintenance from authorized service centers of the manufacturers; is this fair? Does the above verdict imply that independent repair shops will no longer have access to servicing new energy vehicles in the future?
The exposure of this case quickly sparked widespread discussion online. According to statistics, among over 1400 comments on the AC Auto Video Channel, netizens generally expressed doubts about the handling of the situation by the new energy vehicle company.
Many internet users commented: “This is a pocket crime. In the future, as long as you don’t change the battery through official channels, including changing it yourself, it will be considered a crime of damaging computer information systems. Why is changing the battery considered a crime? Because the battery management system of mobile phones also falls under computer information systems.”
“In the future, car washing, applying car film, and installing phone holders will all have to be done at the 4S dealerships/self-operated shops, otherwise, they will say you don’t qualify for warranty. Domestic manufacturers have an unsightly behavior in the country, monopolizing technical information, diagnostics, and parts. Overseas, they would be fined to the point of bankrupting the company.”
“Aside from everything else, how did the manufacturer find out? It won’t be that the car owner voluntarily informed them (you wouldn’t voluntarily inform Apple’s after-sales department after jailbreaking your phone). Extremely chilling upon contemplation.”
“It seems no one dares to buy domestic new energy vehicles anymore, as the subsequent maintenance will be used as an opportunity to profit because although car owners may not understand cars, they understand people.”
It is worth mentioning that the lawsuit filed by a Chinese new energy vehicle company against private business owners and their subsequent victory is not an isolated incident.
Just two weeks ago, China’s largest new energy vehicle manufacturer, BYD, announced that they had received a court judgment in a case where they sued the self-media account “Dragon and Pig – Vehicle Group” and related accounts for defamation. The court ruled that the defendants made “insulting, defamatory” remarks against BYD and ordered them to pay 2.0187 million yuan in compensation.
Following BYD’s compensation of over 2 million yuan, a car owner from Henan province recently released a video apologizing to BYD. In the video, the car owner mentioned that almost all parts of their BYD electric car had been replaced during the warranty period. Some netizens believe that this car owner faced pressure from the official or BYD side.