On Christmas Eve in 2019, SAIC Volkswagen was really not safe. Because on this day, China Insurance Research Institute announced the collision evaluation results of Passat, which also took away the last fig leaf of SAIC-Volkswagen.

The festive red color that fills the screen actually represents the highest rating of "perfect"; the bending and collapse of the A-pillar is the best reflection of the body's energy absorption; the driver's airbag flashes horizontally and perfectly avoids the collision dummy. , actually rushing to the passenger side to provide more comprehensive protection.

The above paragraph is just like someone telling you that the Passat sold in the domestic market is very safe. It is pure bullshit.

Although more than a week has passed, the keyword "Pasata 25" is still fermenting in the media and social platforms. For example, on a Q&A platform, the total number of views on the two topics most closely related to this incident has exceeded 6 million; various respondents also elaborated and analyzed the Passat from the perspectives of the media, OEMs and consumers. This time it was a failure.

Then the question is, under the background of almost the most serious negative news in history, how will SAIC Volkswagen’s 4S store sales staff react in the face of consumers who still come to buy Passat? ?

First of all, it is worthy of recognition that the sales staff encountered during this store visit all demonstrated above-average service standards, and did not appear to be the indifferent and indifferent people they encountered during previous store visits. And extremely cold. The positive information about SAIC-Volkswagen and its 4S stores that appeared in this article has been fully explained at this point.

China Insurance Research Institute is unreliable

The salesman at the first 4S store was silent for more than five seconds after hearing about the Passat crash test; , he chose to point the finger at Zhongbaoyan, which was originally aimed at Passat.

"Have you heard of China Insurance Research Institute?"

After receiving a negative reply, the salesman's speaking speed and volume instantly increased a lot, and he started more confidently. own performance.

“It is jointly organized by several insurance companies, so it does not have any authority.”

“The name sounds like China Insurance Research Institute, which feels related to the country, but in fact It doesn’t matter even a dime.”

Although at the beginning of the conversation, the salesman showed a trace of hesitation; but once he entered the stage of “liing to the point where even he believed it”, the salesman’s guidance The idea is quite clear, which is to directly attack the credibility of the China Insurance Research Institute: a ragtag group of several insurance companies without an objective and neutral official background, how can the results be trusted?

If you want to say that the sales guy is talking nonsense, that would not be appropriate. After all, the first half of his argument is indeed an objective fact.

China Insurance Research, the English abbreviation CIRI, the full name is China Insurance Research Automotive Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., is spearheaded by the China Insurance Industry Association and jointly funded by the top eight property insurance companies in the industry. established.

But at the same time, China Insurance Research Institute is also the only official member of RCAR (Research Council for Automobile Repairs) in China. Other members include Germany's Allianz, Britain's Dachang, and the United States' IIHS.

The entire crash test was actually completed under the guidance of C-IASI China Insurance Automobile Safety Management Center. This organization consists of three parts. In addition to China Insurance Research Institute, there are also China Insurance Association and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd.

It is true that you can think that China Insurance Research Institute and China Insurance Industry Association are both non-governmental organizations and associations, but China Automotive Research Institute, which is responsible for technical activities, is an out-and-out "Chinese prefix", and the ultimate controller It’s also the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Therefore, the C-IASI China Insurance Auto Safety Index is not only authoritative, but also has direct and close ties with the authorities.

And the question comes again. Let’s ignore the above three paragraphs. C-IASI has tested many models since its establishment. Why is the Passat the only one that crashes so embarrassingly?

Faced with this soul torture, in addition to a string of long-sounding onomatopoeia, the salesman only said, "The safety factor of Volkswagen models is basically very high," and then borrowed He resigned first under the pretext of holding a car delivery ceremony for the customer.

Not to mention, the crash test results of the new Lavida are also quite exciting.

The test is just to reduce fees

Recalling the conversation with the sales lady at the second 4S store, it still makes my head hurt.

The other party’s tactics at first were relatively conventional. They were nothing more than similar to the salesman from the first company, criticizing China Insurance Research Institute that “the state did not give it qualifications”; but then the conversation changed and questions arose. Criteria and details of crash tests.

"Then you don't know its strength or angle; if the speed is different, the impact will definitely be different."

So in this sales lady's opinion , China Insurance Research Institute's frontal 25-inch offset crash test is a rather "random" project. The collision area is uncontrollable, the collision angle is uncontrollable, and the collision speed is also uncontrollable. It is precisely because of the interaction of a bunch of uncontrollable factors that the Passat "accidentally" crashed into an unsightly result.

So much so that she gave the following reaction to the Passat crash test video:

“The airbags bounced to the side, so fake!”

"How could the airbag bounce to the side? No matter how hard it bounces, it can't bounce to the side!"

But in fact, C-IASI provides a 23-page " "Front 25 Offset Crash Test Regulations" provides detailed specifications and guidance for all details of the entire experiment; the Passat's crash test was also completely based on this "Procedures".

So if we really want to be honest, it is true that the Passat's airbag bounced to the side.

After complaining about the laxity of the China Insurance Research Institute’s testing, the young lady spread a “conspiracy theory”, that is, the real purpose of the China Insurance Research Institute is to lower the premium of Passat.

This part of the young lady’s original words was too brain-burning, which was also the core factor that caused headaches; and after repeatedly sorting out her remarks, I finally understood her true thoughts deep in her heart.

It turns out that the first-year premium for a new Passat is basically around 8,500 yuan, while other models of the same level are generally in the 7,000 yuan range; but Passat’s part-to-part ratio is particularly high, such as a pair of cars with follow-up steering A headlight costs 10,000, so every time there is an accident, the insurance company pays a lot of compensation.

But this time, Zhongbaoyan pulled the Passat over and hit it like this. When I looked at it again, hey, the crash was quite bad. The quality of your car is so poor, and you still ask us to pay so much every time. Isn’t this obvious? A scam?

So the summary is this. In this sales lady's opinion, because Passat's premium is high, the insurance payout is also high, and the insurance company makes less money; and after passing this crash test, the insurance company proved that your car is not crashworthy. , the quality is not that good, then you will have to pay less premiums, and the compensation amount will be reduced accordingly...

High premiums lead to high compensation amounts, and lowering the premiums can reduce the compensation amount... What kind of genius logic is this? It’s too unqualified for me to work as a salesperson in a 4S store, isn’t it? If I can’t recruit you, the top management of the insurance company should all take the blame and resign.

Seriously, by the way, just because Passat has such a shocking impact in C-IASI, let alone reducing the premium in the future, can you believe that the premium will rise to 9,000 yuan in the first year?

Sales speak for themselves

Facts have proved that although SAIC-Volkswagen has not issued any statement or apology to the outside world, it has definitely provided relevant training on speaking skills internally. Because the sales lady at the third 4S store also questioned that China Insurance Research Institute’s crash test had not been officially certified, and even claimed that “China Insurance Research Institute can do anything for you as long as you pay.”

But if this statement is true, then why didn’t SAIC Volkswagen think of paying? Isn’t it upright?

While stepping on C-IASI, the sales lady also did not forget to hold up a C-NCAP that she could not spell correctly for a long time. However, the embarrassing objective fact is that this industry-famous "five-star wholesale department" has not yet tested the new Passat that uses the MQB platform.

After another soul torture, "Then why didn't other cars crash like this?", the young lady was obviously caught off guard further, and even cited Audi's similar failure at the China Insurance Research Institute. example.

The atmosphere once again fell into embarrassment. After all, Baoyan has never hit an Audi before...

I can hardly talk anymore this day, and I have never thought about another one. The question gave the sales lady enough room to play: "How is the actual safety of Passat?"

Then it was the turn of the golden sentence: "Sales volume speaks for itself!"

According to the sales lady, the total sales volume of their 4S store last month was about 130 units, of which more than 30 Passat units were sold; considering the total number of models on sale at SAIC Volkswagen, as well as the positioning and pricing of Passat , the proportion of 23 is really not low.

And she can still have full confidence in Passat at this point in time, and her confidence comes precisely from consumers.

This visit to the SAIC Volkswagen 4S store involved four stores in the Suzhou area; except for one store because it was a working day, the location was too remote, and it was close to get off work, the store doors were empty, and the rest were empty. All three stores are crowded, and even the parking area in front of the store is hard to find.

The ridiculous scene in front of us even makes people doubt whether the car that bent the A-pillar and received a poor rating is really a Passat?

Who cares about Yu?

According to the usual practice of visiting stores, we still have to report on the discounts at the Passat terminal.

The three 4S stores offered different discounts, ranging from 30,000 to 36,000 yuan. They also added a decoration package of 1,800 yuan to the quotation, including films and floor mats. However, The salesperson also admitted that it is not mandatory and can be removed if it is not needed.

As for financial policies, although salespeople strongly recommend a three-year low-interest plan, there is actually an interest-free option for two years; a loan fee of 3,000 yuan is required, but the car price can be higher. A discount of 2,000 yuan, one plus and one minus, is equivalent to spending an extra 1,000 yuan to get a two-year interest-free loan.

Some other trivial information points: most stores have enough existing cars, but only one store said that all the cars from the previous year have been ordered, leaving only PHEVs; and the sales of one of the 4S stores He said that the highest version of Passat currently available is the 330TSI luxury version with an official guide price of 237,900 yuan.

AL Channel Summary

Faced with Passat's lowest score in C-IASI history, SAIC Volkswagen has not made any response so far. Such a cold attitude was also interpreted by the sales staff of the 4S store as "China Insurance Research is unreliable, so the public does not bother to respond at all."

No response, no improvement, just keep selling. Who should I blame? The public? No, blame the public.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.