The hidden rules of high-end car sales are exposed again： is it compliant to increase the price by hundreds of thousands？

　　Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, April 22nd Question: High-end car sales are exposed again "hidden rules": Is it compliant to increase the price by several hundred thousand yuan in addition to the price tag?

　　Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Zhao Yihe, Lu Wenjun and Wang Chenyang

　　If the vehicle is clearly marked with a price of more than 770,000 yuan, an additional price increase of 300,000 yuan is required to pick it up, and you can’t buy a car without the price increase … … "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporter recently visited a number of automobile 4S stores and found that the price increase of some high-end models has become a "hidden rule" in the market. Is the price increase sales compliant and legal? Whose pocket did the extra money go into?

　　Mr. Wu of Shanghai recently bought two top-selling Toyota cars. In addition to the price of more than 770,000 yuan, he increased the price of each car by about 180,000 yuan. "The price increase of high-end hot-selling cars is the market ‘ Unspoken rules ’ 。” Mr. Wu said.

　　Mr. Tian from Luoyang, Henan Province, recently had a similar experience. "I bought a Japanese LX570(5-seat version) car with an original price of 1.417 million yuan and a price increase of 300,000 yuan. After going to several dealers, you need to increase the price. If you don’t increase the price, you can’t get the car. " Mr. Tian said.

　　The reporter visited several dealers in Shanghai on the spot and consulted the quotation of a hot-selling car of Toyota. A seller in Minhang District provided a quotation to the reporter. The column of "car price" on the quotation showed that the price was 774,000 yuan, and the column of "price increase" marked "208,000 yuan". On the quotation given by another dealer, the column of "original car price" says "77.4", and the car price after discount says "77.4+28.5". The salesperson said that 285,000 yuan is a fare increase.

　　The reporter also consulted several other dealers, and the price increase of this model ranged from 250 thousand yuan to 350 thousand yuan. The reporter asked a salesperson of a Toyota store in Minhang District, Shanghai if he could wait a little longer without increasing the price. The salesperson said that "all of them have to increase the price".

　　The reporter’s investigation found that at present, it has become a "hidden rule" for some high-end models to raise the price in addition to the clearly marked price. For example, in some areas, a high-end off-road vehicle of Mercedes-Benz needs to increase the price by about 500,000 yuan.

　　The new automobile sales management measures implemented in July 2017 stipulate that dealers should clearly state the price of selling automobiles, accessories and other related products and the charging standards for various services in an appropriate form at the business site, and may not increase the price or charge extra fees beyond the marked price.

　　According to industry insiders, in fact, dealers also know that price increase is an improper act. Therefore, when selling cars, most of them will not let the word "price increase" clearly appear in relevant sales agreements and bills.

　　The reporter’s investigation found that some dealers increase their prices without issuing invoices to consumers. Mr. Henan Tian said: "I paid a total of more than 1.7 million yuan in two times, but I only got an invoice of 1.417 million yuan. I don’t want to invoice the money that was increased." Mr. Dong, who bought a Japanese LX570 car in Henan, also confirmed to the reporter that the car was paid, but the dealer only invoiced the price of the car, and the price increase was not shown on the invoice.

　　Some dealers said that if the fare increase part needs an invoice, they need to pay additional tax points. A Toyota salesperson in Minhang District, Shanghai told the reporter that if the fare increase part is invoiced, it needs to bear 13% of the tax point. The reporter counted the quotations of many dealers and found that the tax points increased ranged from 13% to 17%. Part of the invoice for the fare increase can be issued on the car price, which means that consumers have to pay more purchase tax. If the price increase part is invoiced separately, only service fees, decoration fees, maintenance fees and accessories can be invoiced.

　　Whose pocket did the fare increase go into? A number of salespeople told reporters that this part of the income mainly went into the pockets of dealers. A variety of models sold at a higher price are "tight goods" in the market. After dealers get the goods, they will naturally raise the prices.

　　Jia Xinguang, executive director of china automobile dealers association, said that automobile dealers have formed a price alliance to some extent, and consumers are in a weak position when buying cars, which is one of the reasons for the phenomenon of dealers increasing their prices.

　　Because most of the dealers’ price increases are high-end cars, some voices on the Internet believe that the price increase of high-end cars is purely "one is willing to fight and one is willing to suffer". In this regard, industry experts believe that, in fact, this kind of price increase behavior infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and must be taken seriously, otherwise it will eventually hurt all consumers. Liu Chunquan, a lawyer of Shanghai Duanhe Duan Law Firm, said that according to the Consumer Protection Law, consumers have the right to fair trade. Dealers charge after the retail price is announced, which infringes on consumers’ right to fair trade.

　　The person in charge of the automobile office of the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee said that the price increase without express indication and the consumers could not make a choice obviously infringed on the consumers’ right to choose independently.

　　According to the provisions of the automobile sales management measures, dealers are not allowed to increase sales or charge extra fees beyond the price tag. In violation of the provisions, the local competent commerce department at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections, and may give a warning or a fine of not more than 30,000 yuan.

　　Zhang Wenbin, a lawyer of Beijing Hairun Tianrui Law Firm, said that the warning and the fine of less than 30,000 yuan stipulated in the automobile sales management measures are relatively light compared with the price increase of several hundred thousand yuan, so it is difficult to really play a warning role. Dealers don’t make out invoices or open tax receipts of other names at will, which is suspected of tax evasion.

　　It is worth noting that in recent years, in several disputes between consumers and dealers caused by increasing the price of cars, the court supported consumers’ demands for rights protection. In 2016, Beijing Baideli Star Automobile Sales Company was sued by consumers for selling a high-end off-road vehicle of Mercedes-Benz at a price increase of 145,000 yuan. The Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing ruled in the first instance that Baideli Company returned 145,000 yuan to consumers. Subsequently, Baideli Star Automobile Sales Company refused to accept the appeal. In 2018, the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court rejected the appeal in the second instance and upheld the original judgment.

　　Industry insiders suggest that the relevant regulatory authorities should urge dealers to clearly mark the prices of vehicles and related services, and disclose the specific service items contained in them to prevent the behavior of "boring the package"; Support consumers to complain about price increase sales and defend their rights through legal channels. In addition, consumers should also resolutely say "no" to fare increases, not blindly follow the trend, rationally consume, and cut off the "black hand" of fare increases from the source. (Participating in reporters Zhang Mengjie and Zhou Rui)