FRESH from having to refute an Omoda 5 owner’s complaints about non-functioning brakes, Chery Malaysia is facing backlash for suing the vocal lady Omoda 5 owner for defamation over – presumably – going overboard with her complaints on social media.
This was highlighted in a post by @thefaizzainal on X (formerly Twitter) which has been viewed over 791,000 times at the time of writing.
Pengguna Chery Omoda 5 yang complain pasal masalah brake pun kena saman? 😰 pic.twitter.com/mGzcmvSFJq
— FAIZ ZAINAL (@thefaizzainal) May 4, 2024
The seemingly car enthusiast went on to say that every marque has its fair share of problems. Unfortunately, Chery seems to be suffering from the public’s sceptical perception of China-made automobiles. That observation was backed up by a few comments displaying such bias.
One netizen succinctly pointed out every car make has issues – even luxury European marques like his BMW – except that he did not make a fuss about it online.
Many netizens though were unimpressed by Chery Malaysia’s course of action with some seeing it as bullying tactics against the hapless consumer.
Some netizens called for greater protection from the law for consumers.
Some netizens though tried to be objective, suspecting that the owner who got sued was a “problematic character”.
It was pointed out that other complaints were dealt with by Chery Malaysia without resorting to legal suits. Another netizen suggested that an overly kiasu attitude was the root cause of the lawyer’s letter.
While the finer details are unknown, it has to be said that Chery Malaysia’s decision to sue a customer has inadvertently brought on more negative publicity.
Whether justified or not, this is poor public relations from the distributor who must realise that in the age of social media, everything is open to conjecture.
After all, such action can lead to many potential customers turning their backs on the brand for fear of being served with a summons should they voice any displeasure over the product.
Over to you Chery Malaysia…. – May 6, 2024
Post-script: Apart from the faulty braking system issue brought up by Jc Jess above, another lady owner has also highlighted another severe defect with her Chery – this time, the car’s “back axle snapped clean off while driving in the middle of the road”.
Main pic credit: Jc Jess (炯炯) Facebook
