[RM Motorsports]

A scandal has erupted in China over counterfeit products in Volvo cars.

According to reports Volvo owners in China have found speakers labelled "Bowers VVilkins" or even "Bovvers Wilkins" in their cars. It is still unclear which Volvo models are affected.

But that wasn’t the only issue. One S60 owner also got bad vibes from the crystal gear shifter, saying it wasn’t the real deal either because the transmission knob lacked the standard backlighting.

Volvo China owned by Geely Auto has launched investigation in this matter.

https://carbuzz.com/volvo-fake-bower...peakers-china/

[dhanushs]

How times have changed. A Swedish manufacturer selling counterfeit goods into China.

[condor]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

How times have changed. A Swedish manufacturer selling counterfeit goods into China.

.. and the goods were made in china.

Full circle of a different type ?

[reignofchaos]

Seems like an errant dealer who put these on their own in china and it is not Volvo themselves.

[mayankk]

"The swap doesn't seem to have been made at a Volvo factory. The reports say that the speakers were added as part of a promotion at the dealer, pitched as an optional audio setup, which replaced the basic factory systems with an "upgrade." Likely with an upcharge less than the cost of the official system."

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by condor

.. and the goods were made in china.

Full circle of a different type ?

Chinese version of Vocal for Local. .

This goof-up is Hilarious. Wonder how Volvo HQ is going to deal with it given that's it's their Brand name at stake but then, it is their investor's end where the goof-up happened.

[dileepcm]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

A Swedish manufacturer selling counterfeit goods into China.

If I am not mistaken, Geely owns Volvo cars, and I am not even sure where these cars get manufactured these days.

Having said that, whether it’s for Sweden or China, for Volvo or for Volkswagen, factory or dealer, it looks like another scam where some one's hard-earned money is stolen.
I hope the criminals get treated appropriately sooner rather than later.

[Sensible_Speed]

Originally Posted by dileepcm

If I am not mistaken, Geely owns Volvo cars, and I am not even sure where these cars get manufactured these days.

Most Volvos are made in China. R&D happens in Sweden though. All new Volvo EVs are exclusively built in China. This is not just Volvo though. Even companies like BMW and Stellantis build a lot of their entry level EVs in China. The Minis, X1s, smaller Citroens, Leapmotors stuff are all made in China. Their EV supply chain is well established and offers an insanely competitive price. It would not make sense to build these cars anywhere else.

[S1200]

Whenever I see such fake things, one thing always pops up in my mind. Why don't the fake items copy and print the brand name exactly as original?

Printing that in non-original style will of-course identify very easily that this is fake. Then why do counterfeit companies do such?

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

Their EV supply chain is well established and offers an insanely competitive price. It would not make sense to build these cars anywhere else.

China has spent immense amount of thinking time to built the vertical integrated industries that are very hard to replicate elsewhere.

but, Geo-Resilience calls the need to find new zones and I hope India picks up that hint and invests.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

How times have changed. A Swedish manufacturer selling counterfeit goods into China.

Let me correct this:
A Chinese owned Swedish brand manufactured in China is selling cars with first copy of prominent European sound system.

Volvo has been owned by Geely since late 2000s.

On a side note, BAIC Auto is the largest shareholder of Daimler Benz ( makers of Mercedes) followed by Li Shifu ( owner of Geely Auto). Together they own a little over 20%.

Almost everything you are buying has some Chinese component or other. So enjoy!

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Seems like an errant dealer who put these on their own in china and it is not Volvo themselves.

Yes. Sounds like a dealership “upgrading” unsold stock with fake parts. You also see it in India many times.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by S1200

Whenever I see such fake things, one thing always pops up in my my mind. Why don't the fake item copies and prints the brand name exactly as original?

Printing that in non-original style will off-course identifty very easily that this is fake. Then why do counterfeit companies do such?

That's because an exact copy is likely to get them in huge trouble, and probably they'll be caught easily even by China standards.

Today, even a lot of reputed companies & brands (like Sanifresh) copy Harpic, the original, premium toilet cleaner in terms of bottle shape, bottle colour, etc.

So, making a resembling copy is still far better than creating a first copy, you can atleast argue.

For years in India, Parle-G allowed brands imitating it with a similar name & design to exist, like Patel-G, Panvel-GG, Parul-Ji, etc.