Blue Whale News, February 15th (Reporter Lu Pengpeng) From a distance, it looks like a 'W', but up close, it looks like two 'V's. Upon waking up, Volvo owners found their world turned upside down as the 'Bowers & Wilkins' audio system installed by the 4S dealership turned out to be counterfeit. Just before March 15th, Volvo became embroiled in a counterfeit audio system scandal.

Bowers & Wilkins becomes Bowers 'Pseud' Wilkins.

Many Volvo 4S stores are installing counterfeit audio systems for customers.

In recent days, reporters from Blue Whale News have received reports from many car owners indicating that Volvo 4S stores have been installing counterfeit 'Bowers & Wilkins' audio systems for customers. Some stores even used the promotion of original audio systems as a lure to entice consumers to place orders, boosting sales, but 'word games' played out in the contracts. Many consumers only discovered they were deceived months after picking up their vehicles.

Ms. Zhao is a Volvo owner from ShanDong. She purchased an XC90 at the ShanDong Yantai ZHONGSHENG HLDG Volvo 4S store (full name: Yantai ZHONGSHENG HLDG Volvo Automobile Sales Service Co., Ltd.), but she recently discovered that the audio system in her car is not the original 'Bowers & Wilkins', but a counterfeit version.

Even more bizarrely, the counterfeit audio system altered the 'W' in the 'Bowers & Wilkins' logo to 'VV', making it nearly indistinguishable from the real thing unless closely examined.

Ms. Zhao stated: "This audio system was a gift when I bought the car. The sales representative verbally promised it was the original Bowers & Wilkins. I confirmed this information multiple times, but looking back, I found out that this counterfeit audio system has extremely poor sound quality."

Ms. Zhao indicated that when ordering the car, the 4S shop used the installation of the "Bowers & Wilkins" audio system and various accessories as a gimmick to guide consumers into placing orders for the car. Even recently, when she contacted the after-sales service of that shop, they still insisted that the audio system was "Bowers & Wilkins."

"I only had them install it because of the Bowers & Wilkins brand. Now, for a car costing over 500,000, it actually has a counterfeit audio system." Ms. Zhao expressed her regret when discussing this matter.

Mr. Li from Yunnan also reported the issue of counterfeit audio systems to Blue Whale reporters. In 2022, he purchased a 2023 S60 Intelligent Luxury Edition car at the Yunnan Fenghao Volvo 4S shop (full name: Yunnan Fenghao Automobile Sales Service Co., Ltd.).

Mr. Li stated that the 4S shop was ambiguous about the audio system when ordering the car, not only installing a counterfeit audio system but also playing word games in the contract to evade legal risks.

From the contract provided by Mr. Li, whether in handwritten or printed form, it does not directly mention "Bowers & Wilkins," but uses phrases like "Boweizhongzhi" and "Central Speaker" instead. It is worth noting that in the handwritten contract, the character "伟" in "宝伟" is not the same as the "韦" in "宝华韦健."

In recent days, car owners from ShanDong, Yunnan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Guangdong and other places have reported the counterfeit Volvo audio incident to Blue Whale News reporters.

Based on the content of the car owners' reports, the counterfeit audio mainly concentrates on models such as S60, XC60, XC90; some car owners spent around 2000 yuan to install it, while others received it as a gift. Many 4S stores verbally promised that it was "Bowers & Wilkins" audio during the installation, but deliberately did not specify the original manufacturer's wording in the contract to evade legal risks.

Even more laughable is that the versions of the installed counterfeit audio are dazzling:

One version changes "W" to VV, which becomes "Bowers & VVilkins".

Another version changes two “W”s to four V's, resulting in "Bovvers & VVilkins."

There are even those who swap "il" for "li", thus producing "Bowers & VVlikins."

According to the logo of the counterfeit audio "BOVVERS & VVILKINS", reporters found that the company belonging to this trademark is Dahong (Shenzhen) Auto Parts Co., Ltd., which was established in October 2022, with a registered capital of only 0.05 million yuan.

It is worth noting that there is not only one company producing counterfeit audio parts; reporters found that a company named Dalian Bowers & Wilkins Trading Co., Ltd. has also registered the trademark "13OWERS & VVILKINS," directly replacing the letter "B" in Bowers & Wilkins with "13."

To most Consumers, the behavior of the 4S store in swapping parts and installing counterfeit audio systems is already suspected of fraud, demanding that the relevant store replace it with the original factory Bowers & Wilkins audio system, while hoping that the Volvo AB Unsponsored ADR Class B brand takes regulatory responsibility for this.

Playing word games when signing the contract.

4S store refuses compensation and replacement.

Volvo responded: An investigation was launched immediately.

Bowers & Wilkins is a high-end audio brand from the United Kingdom, founded in 1966, known as the Rolls-Royce of the audio industry. A check by the Blue Whale reporter on the Volvo official app found that the price for equipping a Bowers & Wilkins audio system is 25,800 yuan.

This price deterred many car owners from opting for it, and the aforementioned 4S store specifically targeted this aspect in subsequent communication with Consumers, using phrases like 'Get the original Bowers & Wilkins for free' or 'Install at an extremely low price of 1,000 to 3,000 yuan' to attract Consumers to place orders, ultimately leading to a rapid transaction.

For a luxury brand like Volvo AB Unsponsored ADR Class B, the experience brought to the owner by a factory-installed Bowers & Wilkins sound system is unparalleled by counterfeit sound systems, which is why most owners express outrage at the 4S stores' deceptive practices.

According to Blue Whale reporters, after discovering the counterfeit sound systems, most owners sought explanations from the 4S store where they purchased their vehicles, but they were unable to receive satisfactory answers, as the reason was very simple: if 'Bowers & Wilkins' was not specified in the contract, there could be no replacements or compensation.

Ms. Zhao revealed that after failing to communicate with the 4S store, she contacted Volvo customer service, but the response was that this matter needs to be handled by the 4S store, with both sides shirking responsibility.

In response, Blue Whale News reporters also contacted Volvo through the official app, and the response stated that regarding the recent feedback from some consumers about 'dealers giving away non-original accessories', Volvo is taking this matter very seriously and will further strengthen the supervision and management of authorized dealers, comprehensively standardizing sales service standards and processes to effectively protect the legal rights and interests of every consumer.

Regarding whether the Volvo brand turns a blind eye to this matter, its supervisory responsibilities, and how it will be handled going forward, the representative stated that it will not tolerate such behavior from 4S stores and will urge relevant dealers to actively communicate with consumers and handle the matter properly according to the specific situation.

On February 12, Volvo responded to this matter through its official Weibo, stating that a special investigation has been initiated immediately.

Volvo's sales in China reached a five-year low last year.

But are the 4S dealers the originators of counterfeit audio systems?

For a long time, China has been Volvo AB Unsponsored ADR Class B's largest single market, but in recent years, the brand's sales in China have been unstable. Specifically, from 2020 to 2024, its sales in China were 166,300 units, 171,700 units, 162,000 units, 170,100 units, and 156,400 units respectively, with last year's sales being a five-year low.

Car owners generally believe that giving away accessories is a method used by Volvo's 4S dealers to promote sales; however, since the factory option price for the 'Bowers & Wilkins' sound system reaches 25,800 yuan, some 4S dealers have chosen to replace it with counterfeit accessories to lower costs and attract consumers.

From Volvo's response, it seems that the brand was not aware of this issue, and the 4S dealers appear to be the original culprits behind the installation of counterfeit audio systems for car owners.

One car owner revealed to reporters: 'After discovering the counterfeit audio system, I asked the after-sales manager at the 4S dealer about it, and they said this accessory was procured by their ZHONGSHENG HLDG Group.'

Blue Whale reporters also learned that several car owners who purchased vehicles from dealerships under ZHONGSHENG HLDG have indeed reported issues with counterfeit audio systems.

According to the store information provided by vehicle owner Ms. Zhao, Blue Whale reporters found that Yantai ZHONGSHENG WOMA Autos Sales and Service Co., Ltd. was established in 2009, with Li Yuanhua as the legal representative, and is 100% controlled by Qingdao ZHONGSHENG FUMAO Investment Management Co., Ltd. After examining the equity structure, it turns out that the actual controlling shareholder is ZHONGSHENG (Dalian) Group Co., Ltd.

ZHONGSHENG Group was founded in 1998 and went public in Hong Kong in 2010, reaching a peak Market Cap of nearly 180 billion, owning over a thousand dealerships. In recent years, with the bankruptcy of companies like Guanghui, ZHONGSHENG Group has become the largest 4S store group in the country.

The latest Earnings Reports show that as of June this year, ZHONGSHENG Group has 419 dealerships nationwide, of which 269 are luxury brands, accounting for over 60%, focusing on the luxury car market.

In terms of performance, under the backdrop of domestic New energy brands rapidly capturing market share in the traditional luxury car market, ZHONGSHENG began facing profitability pressures this year.

In the first half of 2024, ZHONGSHENG's revenue was 82.421 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.63%; net income attributable to shareholders was 1.58 billion yuan, a decrease of 47.50% year-on-year.

In addition, in the first half of 2024, ZHONGSHENG HLDG closed 6 stores. ZHONGSHENG explained that the closed stores were mostly peripheral brands of the group.

What should be done if the counterfeit audio system is a free gift and the 4S store is playing word games?

Lawyer: Consumers have the right to claim a "refund and three times the compensation."

From the substitution at the 4S store to the dazzling counterfeit audio systems, there are many questions in this incident, such as: Does the Volvo brand have regulatory responsibility for this? Is the 4S store suspected of fraud? Are counterfeit manufacturers infringing rights?

In addition, many car owners are concerned about whether they can protect their rights if the counterfeit audio system is a free gift. If the 4S store plays word games in the contract and the car owners do not have solid evidence, can they still protect their rights? Regarding these issues, a reporter from Blue Whale consulted a lawyer.

Lawyer Liang Jingran from Hebei Century United Law Firm believes that the relationship between the Volvo brand and the 4S store is a cooperative model of authorized operation. Under this business structure, the brand bears an unavoidable regulatory responsibility for the operational behavior of the 4S store based on its own brand image maintenance and the overall control needs of commercial cooperation. The brand usually formulates a series of dealer management specifications, which cover requirements for the quality of sold products and services. Although the brand claims to have a strict original parts full-chain traceability management system, the outbreak of this incident indicates that the system failed to effectively restrain the behavior of the 4S store in practice, leading to the inflow of counterfeit audio systems into the market and harming consumer rights. This indicates that there are loopholes in the brand's regulatory process, failing to fully fulfill its supervisory duties over the operations of the 4S store, and failing to guarantee the quality assurance that consumers should enjoy when purchasing Volvo brand vehicles and related parts.

Regarding the issues with the 4S store, lawyer Feng Shuai believes that the actions of the 4S store constitute consumer fraud and are suspected of being illegal. If the 4S store deliberately uses counterfeit audio systems to impersonate original parts, it belongs to the fraud behaviors stipulated in Article 55 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law. Car owners can demand a refund and three times the compensation for the fraudulent part, and some car owners have even successfully claimed the refund and three times the compensation for the vehicle. A specific reference case is "A Chongqing car owner sued the 4S store for installing fake Bose audio systems, and the court ruled for a refund and compensation of three times 1.85 million yuan."

Regarding the issue of "free gifts" and "contracts," lawyer Feng Shuai further explained that such situations can still be claimed for rights protection.

Firstly, consumers, based on the merchant's promise of free gifts, will psychologically include the value of the free gifts into the overall transaction consideration. Merchants deceive consumers with fake gifts, undermining the fairness of the transaction. When a gift forms an overall sales plan with the main product, or when the quality of the gift directly affects the functionality of the main product, the operator is required to bear the same quality assurance obligations for the gift as for the main product. If there are instances of inferior goods being passed off as fine ones or false ones being passed off as true, it can still be considered fraud.

Secondly, in judicial practice, if a merchant deliberately uses trademarks, packaging, or corporate names that are similar to well-known products, leading consumers to mistakenly believe the source of the goods, it constitutes fraudulent behavior.

Finally, regarding the issue of counterfeit accessories, Lawyer Liang Jingran believes that counterfeit manufacturers producing imitation 'Bowers & Wilkins' audio products, without the authorization or permission of the owner of the Bowers & Wilkins trademark, use marks that are extremely similar to the registered 'Bowers & Wilkins' trademark on the audio products. This behavior can easily mislead consumers into thinking that what they are purchasing is genuine Bowers & Wilkins audio. According to Article 57 of the Trademark Law, without the permission of the trademark registrant, using a trademark that is similar to its registered trademark on the same type of goods, or using a trademark that is the same or similar to its registered trademark on similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion, constitutes an infringement of the exclusive rights of registered trademarks. Through this infringement, counterfeit manufacturers illegally exploit the market reputation and commercial value of the Bowers & Wilkins brand, obtain improper benefits, and at the same time severely damage the brand image and market share of Bowers & Wilkins, disrupting the normal market competition order.

Furthermore, the behavior of counterfeit manufacturers also constitutes unfair competition. In market competition, all operators should follow the principles of honesty and credit and recognized business ethics. Counterfeit manufacturers mislead consumers by imitating well-known brand audio products and passing off inferior goods as genuine, which violates the provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law regarding the prohibition of misleading behavior. They use unfair means to seize market share from legitimate operators, undermine the fair competitive market environment, and hinder the healthy development of the industry.