Foreign car brands have received about twice as many consumer complaints as their domestic counterparts over the past six years, with Volkswagen and Audi at the top of the list, according to analysis by the Korea Consumer Agency on Sunday.

For every 10,000 cars sold, the five top-selling imported automakers -- Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota -- saw an average of 10.9 cases of consumer dissatisfaction from January 2010 to November 2015, according to a KCA report submitted to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.

This is around twice as many as the average five cases faced by the top five Korean automakers during the same period, according to the report.

By company, Volkswagen received the most complaints at 14.3 cases, with Audi trailing closely at 13.5 cases. BMW followed with 9.6 cases, Mercedes-Benz with 8.8 cases and Toyota with 7.3 cases. Hyundai Motor, the largest Korean automaker, saw the lowest number of complaints at 3.1 cases.

These numbers were derived by examining the total number of automobile-related complaints filed at the KCA by brand over the last six years and comparing it with each firm’s total car sales each during the time period, according to the agency.

By protocol, complaints are first filed at a given auto brand’s customer service centers. When a satisfactory solution is not reached in this stage, consumers often turn to the KCA, seeking mediation.

Given this, the number of reported cases of consumer dissatisfaction may not directly be linked to an auto brand’s vehicle quality, but reflect how well it can handle repairs or quality assurance measures to meet customer expectations, according to the report.

“The rise of imported car sales in Korea has led to heightened disputes between the customers and car brands, yet foreign car brands lack comprehensive policies to address key issues like recalls and refunds,” Kim Pil-su, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University, told The Korea Herald. 

Moreover, the number of service and repair shops operated by foreign auto brands and the quality of their services does not match up to the high car prices and the size of their business segment, which has grown significantly over the past few years, according to the auto expert.
 

The total number of official service and repair centers operated by 20 foreign car brands in Korea reportedly stands at 359, compared to the 1,419 operated by Hyundai Motor and 826 by Kia Motors.

Kim also cited the lack of government regulations to protect consumers seeking refunds or exchanges when car-related problems continually emerge, and to ensure that auto companies follow up with appropriate measures after a recall is ordered.

“For instance, even if a consumer has to bring his or her car to the repair shop 10 times within one month of the purchase date, there is no policy to ensure that the consumer gets a refund or exchange,” said Kim.

“Such corporate malpractice is a general industry problem, but has become particularly salient across the imported car segment as it has grown in size,” he said, calling for action by both the government and the civilian sector to address such concerns.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)