A good car stereo makes all the difference on a long journey as it can give you sufficient bass to drown out the rumble of the road beneath you and can soundtrack your drive with the kinds of tunes that put your mind at ease. For Volvo buyers in China, it’s emerged that the premium stereos they thought they were speccing on their new cars weren’t the real deal, and instead of Bowers & Wilkins stereos they were actually driving around listening to a knock off system called Bovvers & VVilkins.
The owner of a Volvo S60 sedan in China first noticed something dodgy about their car’s stereo last week, reports Ars Technica. On closer inspection of the speakers in their car, they realized that the Ws in the Bowers & Wilkins logos were actually two Vs placed very close together. It’s the kind of scam that might work on a dodgy email link or knock off handbag, but seems unbelievable in a real car.
The owner searched for answers at their local Volvo dealer, but was none the wiser after a salesperson claimed they “couldn’t see the difference between VV and W,” Ars Technica adds. What’s more, the owner of the S60 isn’t alone in the discovery of their knock-off stereo, with other Volvo owners in China reporting that they have also noticed the irregularity on their premium family haulers.
What will Volvo do about the knock off stereos?
Volvo isn’t happy about the discovery of the knock-off stereos, adds the Drive. The Swedish automaker, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, reportedly launched an investigation into the matter.
In a statement, the automaker said it implements a “full-link traceability management system” around the globe in order to ensure mistakes like this don’t happen. It did happen, though, and the company will now dig into where the fake stereo came from and will take steps to “strengthen the supervision and management of authorized dealers,” as the Drive adds:
The Volvo dealership was not named, and it’s unknown whether the other troubled owners purchased their vehicles from the same location or elsewhere. There has been enough hullabaloo, though, that corporate was compelled to release a statement.
“Volvo Cars attaches great importance to the ‘irregular behavior in the new car sales process’ reported by some customers recently,” said Volvo China. “Volvo Cars always stands with its customers and will never tolerate any behavior that harms the interests of users.”
Here’s hoping that Volvo can get to the bottom of the fake stereos, which could have been added into the impacted cars at any point in their lifecycle.
Which Volvos received the fake stereo?
The dodgy stereo was found on a Volvo S60 sedan, which was first offered in China almost 10 years ago. The Bowers & Wilkins premium audio system isn’t offered on every S60 shipped, however, and is only available as an option on the S60 in its premium Ultra trim here in the U.S. The S60 Ultra starts at $51,495 here in the Land of the Free, and the stereo upgrade will add around $3,200.
The S60 is currently produced at Volvo’s plants in the U.S., Sweden and Malaysia, as well as a facility in Chengdu in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The Swedish company also builds its S90, EX30 and XC40 models in China, specifically for sale in the Chinese market.
This isn’t the first time that knock-offs have infiltrated the automotive world, but it could be the first time fake products have made it into real cars in such a brazen manner. Previously, automotive ripoffs have included cars like the seventies Toyota Celica, which was heavily inspired by the Ford Mustang, and models like the BAIC B80VJ, which is a G Wagen with less bling.