Tag: Mercedes

This should suprise no one that a cheaply produced Chinese made battery likely caused the recent massive EV fire in South Korea:

The burnt  Mercedes EQE sedan is transferred for a thorough investigation in Incheon. [NEWS1]

Mercedes-Benz‘s ties with an obscure Chinese battery maker came under heavy scrutiny in Korea over the revelation that its EV at the center of a massive explosion in an underground parking garage used the supplier’s battery. 
  
The supplier is Ganzhou-based Farasis Energy, which was founded in 2009 and has a history of issuing recalls due to fire risks.

Mercedes EV owners claim that the German luxury carmaker deceived consumers by marketing some particular EVs as powered by batteries from Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker in terms of shipments. 
  
“It’s definitely an intention to deceive customers. How could a luxury brand like Mercedes use batteries from a brand that no one has heard of and never notify us?” said Jeon Kang-hwan, an owner of a Mercedes EQE 350+ who also heads an emergency committee of around 300 Mercedes owners who are preparing for a class-action lawsuit against the German luxury marque for consumer fraud.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The video of this guy destroying his leased Mercedes in front of the dealership in Gwangju has gone viral in Korea.  However, after reading the whole story it appears that this guy was partly to blame for what happened due to customizations he made to the leased car:

Mercedes-Benz Korea came under fire after a driver of one of its luxury vehicles, dissatisfied with the company’s after-sales service, posted a video online of himself giving the car a violent going-over with a golf club.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on Friday, the same day that the company opened a 25 billion won ($21 million) staff training center
developed to improve its customer
service.

According to Seobu Precinct Police in Gwangju on Tuesday, a leaser of a Benz S63 AMG, surnamed Yoo, was booked on Monday without detention on a charge of obstructing a business. The police said the 33-year-old driver of the 209 million won luxury sedan parked it near the entrance to a Benz dealership and smashed its windshield and doors a dozen times with a golf club.

Yoo then posted a video clip of the assault on YouTube.

The police said the business obstruction charge was applied because Yoo left the car near the dealership for 17 hours.

Yoo told police that he leased the car in March and customized the soundproofing and exhaust systems.

But the car’s engine suddenly stopped working on three separate occasions while driving, including on an overpass on Sept. 9 with his pregnant wife and 5-year-old son in the car.

Yoo found a clause in his contract that guarantees a car owner will get a refund or a replacement vehicle if the same problem is found three times with a part. But according to Yoo, the Benz dealership wouldn’t cooperate.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.