Audi India had to reimburse Rs. 60 lakh to an owner of Q7 for faulty brake system, questioning the safety of the utility of the vehicle
Major automakers in the country have managed to escape the aftermath of selling defective products to customers in India over the years. Most companies have got away with their deeds because of their high-ranked corporate lawyers. However, this time the biggest automaker in the Indian car market (Audi) has been dragged to compensate the owner for a faulty car from the brand.
Recently, the German car maker Volkswagen owning Audi India, has been asked to pay 60 lakhs INR to an owner of a Q7 in Chennai.
The Tamil Nadu Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Volkswagen, the owner of Audi to compensate the 60 lakh INR purchase to a businessman who had made a purchase of the Audi Q7 SUV in 2009.
The owner has filed many complaints to address the brake-related issue since 2014. The commission bench comprised Justice R Subbiah and R Venkatesperumal, who ordered the company to pay the commission to the business within two months. Volkswagen has to pay the company a valuation of 60 lakhs INR with a litigation cost of 25000 INR, respectively.
The Tamil Nadu Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has given out the verdict mentioning that no service provider can not escape without paying compensation when a defect in their product is found to have the potential to cause a critical injury to the consumer. It is of utmost concern in terms of the safety feature of a vehicle.
The commission has further stated that mere denial would not be sufficient to cover up for the faulty system of the vehicle.
Audi India has denied the allegations calling the statements “untrue”
The plaintiff purchased an Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro under his company’s name in January 2009. He had even mentioned that their family nearly missed out on a tragedy when they experienced brake failure close to Kallakurichi. He demanded compensation of 30 lakhs INR followed by the repairing of the faulty parts of the Audi. He has visited the commission multiple times because of the setbacks decor company.
The plaintiff has mentioned that the Audi was bought at a price of 60 lakhs INR, and the vehicle has not covered much mileage accounting for 42036 km. The vehicle has not been used as roughly the company has claimed it led to the malfunctioning of the brake system.
The Audi had undergone a servicing process for 2.4 lakhs INR, but the issue with the faulty brake system has persisted in the product. A defect problem would not have resurfaced unless there was a defect with the product.
At the same time, Volkswagen and the dealer have contested that the allegations stated by the plaintiff were untrue and denied any manufacturing shortcomings related to the Audi. The panel has continuously rejected the allegations showing tax invoice bills, stating that the plaintiff has paid twice the total sum to the company and the dealer for its servicing, replacement, and repairs.
A similar incident took place when an automaker Rajeev Agarwal, an industrialist from Ahmedabad, filed a complaint against Cargo Motors Ltd, which sold him a Jaguar Land rover. The complainant has mentioned that he has filed a complaint against the dealer for harassment. He has mentioned that he has taken his vehicle for servicing three times since 2021, but the problem persisted for the last four months and has not been fixed since the servicing session. He has accused the company has harassed him for ten months.
‘Faulty internal system’: not a good time for Audi India
A faulty brake system can come out to be harmful to Audi in India when the company has decided to increase its capacity of production supported by multiple launches due to the better availability of semiconductors and increasing demand for luxury vehicles. India’s largest luxury car brand, Audi, is expected to touch the dealership of 1 lakh units over the next ten years. Audi India has delivered around 4187 vehicles since 2022, experiencing an overall growth of 27 percent Y-O-Y.
The founder of Audi has stated that the company will expand its sales in India if the Indian economy remains stable and growth continues.
The failure of a vehicle’s safety mechanisms should be considered. Recently, Maruti Suzuki has recalled seven models, including Alto K10 and Brezza, over faulty airbags. They have stated that around 17362 vehicles that were manufactured between December 2022 and January 023 had a defective airbag controller unit. It can further result in the deployment of the airbags and the seat belts in the time of a potent crash. The carmaker has asserted that they would repair the faulty parts free of cost.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
