Why 600 Chinese electric cars are blocked in a parking lot in France

For several years, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly importing on the market, since there are more than 150s currently. If only two would actually be profitable, of which Byd who continues to hit, many of them wanting to try their luck in Europe. For example, this is The case of the Dongfeng groupvia its Sokon subsidiary. But if that doesn’t mean anything to you, it’s completely normal.

A story that ends badly

This has the Seres and DFSK brands, which have been marketed in France for a few years. And this not directly by the Chinese group, but throughAn importer, namely SN Diffusion.

It is the same company that distributed the electric cars of Leapmotor, including the small T03 before the firm entered the stretch of Stellantis. The firm had then unilaterally terminated the contract, leaving the importer the beak in the water and hundreds of abandoned cars.

And here is a year later, the story is repeated for SN Diffusion. In a recently published press release, The CEO of the company, Didier Sirgue Give more details on the situation, similar to that concerning Leapmotor. The leader indicates that Sokon suddenly decided to terminate the contract which linked him to his importer. And this without consulting it. The reason? The Chinese company now wishes to distribute its cars in its own name, without intermediary. And this by creating a company based in Amsterdam.

result, SN Diffusion can no longer sell electric cars of the brand. However, the latter has not really met with the expected success, as the site recalls AutoActu. The latter specifies that Only 1,000 vehicles with Seres have been sold in France since its arrival in 2021. As a comparison, Renault sold more than 2,000 copies of its R5 E-Tech in just one month. Suffice to say that customers did not jostle at the gate to tear the cars of the Chinese brand.

For the record, the latter markets a single model, namely the Seres 3, an electric SUV whose autonomy is announced at around 330 kilometers.

Its site also announces the arrival of Seres 5, another raised model higher -end. This has a power of 700 horsepower and offers an 88 kWh battery. No price has been announced for the latter, while the “3” starts from 29,990 euros. Produced in China, it does not have the right to ecological bonus.

Injured customers

But this is not the only bad news for SN Diffusion. Because the company still has a substantial stock of electric carsthat she cannot sell, as Didier Sirgue explains. “” We asked Seres to resume the stocks of new vehicles that we could no longer sell since we no longer have a contract ». But the manufacturer Now makes the dead. The businessman indicates that “ We have been in discussion with them for that since. We have exhausted all the amicable appeals ».

In total, there are therefore 600 cars which are blocked, and which cost money to the importer. And that’s not all, because Citroën accuse seres of having counterfeit your logo. As a result, Didier Sirgue explains that ” Citroën has won the procedure and we no longer have the right to sell cars with this logo. Our interlocutors at Seres told us that we only had to change the grille and the steering wheel ». Moreover, The stock of parts begins to become scarce For customers who already have a brand of the brand.

Thus, in the event of a breakdown or an accident, it is necessary approximately six months of procedure To play the warranty with the Chinese manufacturer. Customers are likely to end up one day short of spare parts, unless the firm continues to sell its cars in France. But for the moment, we have no news. Motorists like SN Diffusion therefore remain pending and misunderstanding.