Volvo Sold Cars in China With Fake ‘Bovvers & VVilkins’ Speakers

Bowers & Wilkins is known for its high-performance and meticulously engineered audio systems. The British brand can be found in luxury cars from brands such as BMW, Aston Martin, McLaren, and, yes, Volvo. However, recent reports from China suggest that Volvo owners are receiving less than authentic audio equipment.

According to Ars Technica, a Volvo S60 owner confronted his dealership after noticing the vehicle’s Tweeter-on-Top center speaker read “Bovvers & VVilkins.” Yup, that would be two Vs instead of one W in both Bowers and Wilkins. You can see the referenced image on the Chinese-language outlet The Liberty Times. A close-up image of the disjointed “VV” can be viewed via Sohu.

The Volvo sedan owner had brought his vehicle in to have its original Bowers & Wilkins sound system replaced. The reason wasn’t mentioned. In the U.S., the Bowers & Wilkins premium audio is a $3,200 option only available for the top-of-the-line S60 Ultra.

But that wasn’t the only issue. This S60 owner also got bad vibes from the crystal gear shifter, saying it wasn’t the real deal either because the transmission knob lacked the standard backlighting.

Unfortunately, the dealership contact did not speak English but managed to communicate that there was no typographical error in the Bowers & Wilkins labeling. Tomayto, tomahto? The complaining S60 owner was offered no replacement (of the replacement) or remedy.

“The sales staff did not speak English and could not tell the difference between ‘W’ and ‘VV,'” said the owner, as reported by Japanese site JoongAng Ilbo. “All I was told was that the copy speakers were good.”

And this is not a one-time bit of weird news. Other Chinese-market Volvo owners are finding similar discrepancies. 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.”

Volvo uses a “strict full-link traceability management system for original accessories,” continued the statement. The automaker further stressed “openness and transparency” and that it had started a “special investigation” into the matter. Or would that be nnatter?

The post Volvo Sold Cars in China With Fake ‘Bovvers & VVilkins’ Speakers appeared first on The Drive.