Complaints on China’s national 12315 consumer platform surged to 12,000 cases, up 273% year-on-year. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued four major bans: no silent OTA (Over-the-Air) updates, no battery locking or feature downgrades, mandatory filing for core parameter changes, and no misleading advertising. Authorities found that several automakers remotely altered BMS (Battery Management System) parameters via OTA updates without owner consent, limiting battery charging and discharging capacity.
This reportedly reduced driving range by more than 30% and doubled charging times, while billions of yuan in warranty costs were effectively shifted onto consumers. Currently, eight automakers have been summoned for talks, three cases have been formally investigated, and two companies have withdrawn the disputed update packages and pledged to restore vehicle performance. [IThome, in Chinese]