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XPeng Accused of Reneging on Deal to Offer Free Roadside Assistance

Mar 25, 2022, 12:25pm2022/03/25 12:25:47 Pandaily

Many owners of vehicles made by Chinese automaker XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Motors have recently taken to domestic social platforms, alleging that the firm has quietly revised an agreement to provide free roadside assistance services.

As revealed in pictures posted by the owners, when they bought their cars, XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> described Carefree Rescue as offering unlimited roadside assistance services across China. The company promised to provide free towing services to a repair center or super-charging station designated by XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />, available to vehicles with flat tires, dead batteries and vehicle failures.

Yet car owners now suspect XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> of secretly revising the content of the free towing agreement. Three principal changes were noted on the latest Carefree Rescue page.

The latest agreement has deleted the details of “unlimited mileage” and “unlimited number of times.” It added that the free towing and rescue service is only provided for failures caused by product quality. Finally, it deleted the description of towing to a super-charging station, suggesting the firm no longer holds itself liable to provide rescue services in the event of a car lacking electricity.

Many car owners voiced their dissatisfaction with XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />‘s secret modification of the free towing agreement.

The customer service wing at XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> said the adjustment was an optimization to avoid ambiguity in customers’ understanding of the rules, and didn’t revise the rights and interests of the owners of roadside assistance. If a car fails to run due to non-product quality problems, XPeng<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> will no longer provide free roadside assistance services, and fees will now be charged for their provision.