The Remaining Life Of Zhengzhou Automobile Industry After Robbery

"The flood is rising higher and higher. The power supply and water supply are cut off at home. It seems to be flooded. Please come back soon." At 4:00 p.m. on July 20, Zhou Shuang from the service department of Zhengzhou Hezhong Xinwo 4S store was rushing to the customer's community to rescue the vehicle in the heavy rain.

At this time, no one knows that Zhengzhou, a city in the Central Plains, is about to usher in a "disaster".

Recalling the experience of the past few days afterwards, what remains in Zhou Shuang's memory is 84 hours of sleepless fighting day and night to rescue the wading vehicles.

"On the afternoon of July 20, after receiving the dangerous situation report, I went to the first-line rescue without thinking about it. The earlier the customer's vehicle was rescued, the less the loss would be." Zhou Shuang told the 21st century economic news reporter that from July 20 to 24, he and his colleagues transferred and overhauled more than 30 wading vehicles in the rainstorm and flood.

In the waist high flood, Zhou Shuang and his colleagues turned white with water and bruised their legs and bodies.

"There's no way to remember." On July 29, when the reporter asked about the rescue process in the rainstorm, Zhao Xuezhong, director of the service department of Henan Hezhong automobile group, choked and tearful for several times. Since the beginning of the rainstorm on July 18, 24-hour duty to provide free rescue services for consumers has almost become the norm of the dealer's staff.

Both Zhou Shuang and Hezhong automobile group are just a miniature of Zhengzhou auto industry's self-help after the "7.20" rainstorm.

According to the data of Henan Insurance Industry Association, as of July 28, the insurance industry in Henan has received 412300 claims, with a preliminary estimated loss of 9.804 billion yuan, 43400 pieces of compensation have been settled and 609 million yuan has been settled; Among them, 226400 motor vehicle insurance cases involving more people's property safety were reported, with an estimated loss of 6.412 billion yuan.

"The number of vehicles soaked in water is more than that. From the data of dealers, it is now conservatively estimated that the number of damaged vehicles in Zhengzhou alone has exceeded 400000, which is basically one tenth of the car ownership in Zhengzhou. Among them, 25% of the damaged vehicles are basically "bottomless" vehicles, which are basically scrapped, and 60% of the vehicles are damaged above grade 3. " On the afternoon of July 29, the after-sales person in charge of a joint venture brand automobile dealer group said in an interview with the reporter of the 21st century economic report.

At present, with the promotion of rescue and disaster relief work, Zhengzhou automobile rescue work has entered the end. However, how to deal with flooded vehicles, how to quickly settle claims for consumers, how to cooperate with dealers and insurance companies, and where to go for hundreds of thousands of flooded vehicles? All this remains to be resolved.

For Zhengzhou automobile industry, insurance industry and "Zhou Shuang men" engaged in automobile after-sales service for the rest of their lives, a series of aftercare work is still a protracted war.

Dealers in urgent need

Hundreds of thousands of water soaked cars have brought great pressure on local car dealers.

The reporter visited a number of large 4S stores and found that the inside and outside of the shop were full of vehicles with wide open doors, and the sound insulation cotton and seats of many vehicles were removed to dry separately.

"At present, there are about 700 water carrying vehicles towed back from our store waiting for damage assessment and maintenance. The 4S shop can't store it any more. We rent several parking lots around for special parking." In a joint venture brand 4S shop in Jinshui District of Zhengzhou City, a staff member told the 21st century economic news reporter, while the maintenance personnel in the shop were busy among the vehicles waiting for repair.

"There is a serious shortage of parking space and vehicle maintenance personnel." The above-mentioned staff told reporters that after the water in the cabin, including the sound insulation cotton and seat under the car, it needs to be disassembled, dried and repaired as soon as possible. Otherwise, after soaking for many days, not only will the odor be produced by fermentation, but also the body structure, wiring harness and interface will be affected, which will bring more serious damage to the vehicle.

On the morning of July 30, when the reporter came to Henan automobile trade center located in Huiji District of Zhengzhou City, there were damaged vehicles waiting for treatment at the door of each 4S shop, and there were sound insulation cotton and seats under the car which were dismantled and dried separately.

At the same time, a steady stream of vehicles were transported into the park. Within five minutes of the reporter's communication with the sales consultant of Audi 4S store, two vehicles soaked in water were transported to repair; Outside the GAC Toyota store, seven or eight staff members pushed a car full of mud to the maintenance workshop.

"This is just the vehicles that have been transported in these days. There are more than 600 vehicles waiting to be repaired. There are more than that. There are still some cars that have been soaked in water before they can be towed over. There are still cars coming in these two days." The above Audi sales consultant told reporters that at present, maintenance personnel are stepping up maintenance.

"All the cars parked at our door are blistered cars, which are being repaired now. There are still 78 or 80 cars being repaired in the garage. The manufacturer has transferred a lot of repair technicians from other places, or they can't repair them at all." Dongfeng Fengshen 4S store sales consultant told reporters that at least 500000 vehicles were damaged in Zhengzhou.

More dealers told reporters that due to the excessive number of damaged vehicles, the queue time of new vehicles will exceed two months.

"Consumers have come to ask about the repair progress, but you can also see that there are too many damaged vehicles that need to be repaired and there are not enough manpower. It also takes time for sound insulation cotton and seats to dry. Now we try our best to appease consumers and hope that consumers can understand the current situation." The dealers said.

However, for a large number of vehicles to be repaired, including the government and the main engine plant, a series of policies have been issued to speed up the maintenance of water related vehicles.

The loss of "no compensation"

Ms. Geng is the owner of Hengsheng residence community in Zhengzhou. According to Ms. Geng, "July 20" rainstorm in Zhengzhou caused another owner to block the exit of underground parking lot for two hours in order to prevent his car from being flooded. As a result, more than 20 cars in the parking lot were flooded by the pouring rainwater.

"At that time, my car didn't have any damage insurance, only commercial insurance. The vehicle was completely flooded. Now it has been towed to the repair shop by the trailer company. It must be scrapped. Who will bear the loss?" On July 30, Ms. Geng said in an interview with 21st century economic reporter.

According to the video provided by Ms. Geng, an orange jeep was parked at the exit of the underground parking lot. With the continuous pouring of rain, the vehicles behind were soaked in water, and the lower vehicles were even flooded over the roof.

Ms. Geng's experience is not a case in point. In this heavy rain, many owners of Hanhai Qingyu, a wanghong community located in the East Square of Zhengzhou, also faced the same experience.

According to the owner of the residential area, because the property did not remind the owner to move the car and did not prepare for flood prevention, Hanhai Qingyu's three storey garage was flooded, including some super luxury brands such as Porsche and Lamborghini.

According to the statistics of the owners of the community in the wechat group, nearly 200 families have reported the loss of their vehicles. Many families even have three or four vehicles flooded, and more than 200 vehicles have been flooded.

"Under the earth is the vast sea, and above the earth is the clear sky." The owner jokingly said.

It is understood that there are three floors of underground parking lot in Hanhai Qingyu community, parking more than 500 vehicles, most of which are luxury cars; In addition, the owners' valuables such as tobacco, wine and so on in the underground storage room were also flooded, with a total loss of more than 400 million yuan.

In addition to Hanhai Qingyu, there are many residential areas in Zhengzhou, where the car insurance loss is more than 10 billion yuan.

In the face of huge economic losses, the contradiction between the damaged owners and the property continues to perform around whether they fulfill their obligations.

"Even if the car has been insured for damage, the insurance company's compensation will not be enough to cover the owner's loss after the vehicle is scrapped." "For example, the purchase tax of vehicles is not included in the compensation. The more expensive the car is, the higher the purchase tax will be. For a slightly better car, the purchase tax alone will be tens of thousands, and there will be insurance. Who will bear these losses?"

According to the regulations, as the manager of the community, the property should timely repair and repair the common parts of the owner's building, including the roof, external wall, water supply and drainage facilities, and timely notify the owner to transfer the vehicle after the sudden rainstorm causes water inflow into the garage. If the property company achieves the above safety management responsibility, it does not need to bear the responsibility; If the property company fails to pay enough attention to the obligation, does not eliminate the danger in time, fails to inform the owner in time, delays the transfer of garage vehicles or property losses, there are certain faults, and it should bear the corresponding compensation liability.

"We are preparing to work with the owners of flooded vehicles to take legal measures to hold the owners and property owners of blocked exits accountable." Ms. Geng told reporters, "because of the aggravation of the epidemic situation in Zhengzhou, there is no progress at present."

The owners of Hanhai Qingyu community also want to recover their losses through class action.

"Boiling" used car dealers

"After the claim is repaired, the vehicles will flow in different directions. Most of them will flow into the national used car market in different ways. " On August 2, experts from the used car industry said in an interview with reporters.

In this relatively "secret" market, including insurance companies, auction platforms, 4S shops, repair shops, used car dealers, etc., are secretly competing for this "cake".

"If you don't buy a damaged car, you can sell it to us for 20000 yuan, at least 10000 yuan." When the reporter asked how to deal with the recovered water soaked vehicles, a sales consultant in a Dongfeng Fengshen 4S store told the reporter that there were companies outside that specialized in purchasing accident vehicles and water related vehicles, and the recovered water soaked vehicles would be sold to relevant companies.

"We also accept water soaked cars, but the premise is that the personal has been repaired, there is no problem with normal driving, but the price should be lower." A Jiangling Ford sales staff in Zhengzhou said, but did not respond to the flow direction of the water soaked car.

"To tell you the truth, don't drive a car soaked in water after it's repaired, because you don't know what causes it to break down on the road, and the hidden danger is very big." On the morning of July 30, in a second-hand car market in the north of Zhengzhou City, a second-hand car dealer tried to persuade reporters who came to inquire about the price that it would be better to replace a new car with a new one after selling it.

"For example, the original car is worth 80000 yuan. If the water passes through the steering wheel and reaches the scrapped level, the price will be reduced by half or even more. Depending on the age and mileage of the car, it will sell for 40000 yuan at most." The above-mentioned second-hand car dealers told reporters, "we mainly do quality second-hand cars here, but we don't do accident car business. However, there is a big brother in Shanxi who asked for help to find a bubble water car, and just helped him find a bottomless Passat. There are people all over the country who accept this kind of car, and immediately the car in Xinxiang comes out, and the price will have to go down, so we can't sell it. "

In the process of talking with reporters, the second-hand car dealer received a phone call and was asked whether the price of 30000 yuan of Koleos in water was worth starting with.

"Koleos parts are a little expensive, and the cost of maintenance is high. After repair, they can be sold for 70000 yuan." The second-hand car dealer said, "there are so many cars in the water that they don't buy water related insurance. Those with insurance Park in the insurance company's venues, but they will be auctioned in the end."

It is understood that after the vehicle is presumed to be a total loss, the more conventional process is that the insurance company will hand over the car to the accident vehicle handling company downstream, assist the insurance company to deal with the vehicle, and then auction it to the maintenance enterprise.

Generally speaking, there are two trends for the auctioned vehicles: for the vehicles with serious damage, long soaking time and no maintenance value, they will be cancelled or auctioned for dismantling enterprises, and the available parts will be sold after the vehicles are disassembled; The vehicles with maintenance value are auctioned to auto repair shops and professional organizations with repair ability. After being repaired and inspected by relevant vehicle management departments, these vehicles enter the second-hand car market through different sales channels.

Of course, hundreds of thousands of bubble cars also attract large and small used car dealers from all over the country. Zhengzhou parking lots, to the roadside, "high price recycling used cars" small ads everywhere.

A Sichuan second-hand car dealer contacted by the reporter through the "high price recycling used car" on the roadside window said that he had left because of the aggravation of the epidemic.

However, the above-mentioned second-hand car dealers did not stop their bubble water car business. In their wechat circle of friends, we can still see the information of flooded cars at the beginning of "Yu a" or "Yu V".

"The water soaked cars have not been cleaned up. Now you can't buy a second-hand car. In the next one to two months, a large number of used cars will flow to all parts of the country." Another second-hand car dealer in Zhengzhou told reporters, "it is difficult to see the traces of vehicle damage after the special bubble water vehicle company dismantles the car, cleans up, replaces the electronic module, the wiring harness and so on, we sometimes are not good to distinguish."

"Generally speaking, regular second-hand car dealers need to explain to consumers when selling bubble water vehicles." According to the above-mentioned used car dealers, records can be found in regular repair organizations or 4S shops. However, some private repair garages do not leave repair records, so there is still a big risk of buying such a car.

"The second-hand car market in Henan, Shandong, Hebei and Anhui provinces and cities will be chaotic for at least two or three years." Some car dealers told reporters.

"Ready to go" new car market

Behind the hundreds of thousands of damaged vehicles caused by rainstorm and urban waterlogging, various brands not only speed up the repair of damaged vehicles, but also seize consumers' demand for new car replacement to start a new car sales "war".

In a number of car dealers in Zhengzhou, the reporter found that many consumers have begun to buy new cars.

"In view of the total loss of vehicles in this rainstorm, we also have replacement subsidies in our store. If you buy a new car in our store, you can enjoy a replacement subsidy ranging from 5000 to 10000 yuan with the scrapping certificate issued by the insurance company or scrapping agency." Dongfeng Fengshen 4S shop sales consultant told reporters.

Not only Dongfeng Fengshen, but also several brands, including GAC motor, Jiangling Ford and SAIC Roewe, provide different "exclusive replacement subsidies for water soaked vehicles" for different models of their vehicles, with prices ranging from thousands to 10000.

For example, in addition to the original replacement subsidy, additional subsidies are specially introduced for water soaked vehicles. After the comprehensive subsidy, the maximum discount of RMB 10000 can be enjoyed for the purchase of Roewe imax8 model.

At the same time, on July 29, Zhengzhou Finance Bureau, Public Security Bureau, Commerce Bureau, financial work bureau and Big Data Management Bureau jointly issued the subsidy measures for owners of damaged and scrapped vehicles in Zhengzhou to purchase new cars (hereinafter referred to as the "measures"), which clearly proposed that when applying for scrapping and dismantling business to vehicle recycling and dismantling enterprises, towing fees should be exempted. When a new car is registered and registered, the vehicle license fee, the cost of driving license and registration certificate will be exempted.

What is noteworthy is that the "measures" pointed out that the owner of Zhengzhou local license plate (Yu a and Yu V) damaged and scrapped in this flood can apply for a subsidy of up to 15000 yuan if they purchase the vehicle again.

However, the subsidy recipients can only enjoy the subsidy when they purchase new energy vehicles.

According to the measures, the above subsidies are composed of basic subsidies and differentiated subsidies. Among them, the basic subsidy is 5000 yuan per vehicle; The differential subsidy is implemented according to the driving years of the damaged and scrapped vehicles. The subsidy is 10000 yuan for vehicles with 0-3 years (including 3 years), 8000 yuan for vehicles with 3-6 years (including 6 years), and 5000 yuan for vehicles with more than 6 years.

In the view of the industry, the newly issued policy not only provides subsidies and assistance to the victims, but also aims to promote the promotion and use of new energy vehicles in Zhengzhou.

According to the data of Zhengzhou public security bureau, as of July 6, 2021, the number of motor vehicles in Zhengzhou has reached 4.901 million, nearly 5 million, making Zhengzhou the sixth largest automobile city in China.

However, although the total car ownership is huge, the number of new energy vehicles in Zhengzhou is not high. According to the data of Zhengzhou public security bureau, as of July 6, 2021, the number of new energy vehicles in Zhengzhou is 121183, with 24314 newly registered this year. New energy vehicles account for only 2.47% of Zhengzhou's car ownership, of which 70% are online car Hailing or taxis.

This proportion is obviously different from the target of "it is expected that the domestic sales of new energy vehicles will reach 20% of the total sales of automobiles in 2025" proposed in the "new energy vehicle industry development plan (2021-2035)".

In the future, promoting the realization of the goal of new energy vehicles will become the next important task of Zhengzhou automobile industry for the rest of the life after "robbery".

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