When great communication goes bad: Great Wall Motors If you have some knowledge of cars, you will undoubtedly perceive different brands and models in quite different ways. Your perception of a Ferrari or Lamborghini, for instance, is likely to be quite different to your perception of a Ford or Toyota. Within brands, your perception of a Toyota Corolla is likely to be quite different to your perceptions of Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus. Perceptions are critical in the car-selling business, since Australia is said to be among the most competitive car markets in the world with hundreds of different models available.74The general perception that customer groups have of a particular brand or model is likely to result in the sale (or loss of sales) of hundreds, or even thousands, of vehicles. Interestingly, the same Australian company, Ateco (owned by multi-millionaire Neville Crichton), is the national distributor of both Maserati and Lamborghini, as well as the two low-priced Chinese brands introduced into Australia in the last five years — Chery (passenger cars) and Great Wall (utilities and off-road vehicles). What a contrast! Great Wall's advertising concentrates on the word 'Great'. The headline of the brochure for the V Series Ute, for instance, states 'How great can a great ute get?' Inside, the greatness of these cars is emphasised even more: The nationwide dealer network of over 70 dealerships continues to expand, reporting nothing but praise from owners all over the country, who are enjoying the reliability, safety, technology and reassurance that Great Wall offers. When you combine this with the amazing value that Great Wall represents, the Great Ute of China is fast becoming the Great Ute of Australia.75 The buying proposition is simple — these Chinese cars are produced inexpensively compared to Korean and Japanese rivals, so customers will obtain as 'great' a vehicle as could possibly be expected for a budget price. To provide further 'reassurance', owners receive a 3-year, 100000-kilometre warranty on their Great Wall vehicles. It seems that the warranty is more than warranted, since, when motoring writer Toby Hagon and his companions purchased a Great Wall X240 and test-drove it over several Australian deserts, they had to have the dealer make a bunch of repairs under warranty. Slipping door seals, a dysfunctional cupholder, inoperational parking sensors and a missing number plate light cover were among the many 'niggling problems' of the car. In addition, the engine, which Hagon calls 'anaemic', struggled up hills and the instability of the car required constant attention to directing it where it was meant to be heading while regularly changing gears because of the engine's relative lack of power. Hagon concluded that, while the X240 was better at off-roading than travelling on normal roads, it was of 'sub-standard quality' and, for a four-wheel drive, was a vehicle 'unfamiliar with the outback', confirming that 'safety and quality concerns aren't the only issues with Chinese cars'. Hagon requested that Ateco provide a test car for review and the company refused, presumably because it knew that inevitable comparisons would be made with its higher-quality and higher-priced competitors such as Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota. Hagon purchased a second-hand X240 which, although only a year old, cost $15000 from a dealer, a huge drop from its new price tag of $23990. When Hagon tried to sell it after the adventure, it took months of waiting before someone finally purchased it for $11500, less than half of its original price even though the car had only travelled 52000km and was less than 2 years old. Nonetheless, Ateco had launched the first successful entry of a Chinese brand vehicle into the Australian market, and had sold thousands of its vehicles to tradespeople and others looking for a cheap, new car that would 'do a job'. Less than a week after Hagon published his review on the Great Wall X240 ute, things took a turn for the worse. On 15 August 2012, it was reported that Australia's safety authorities were deciding whether to recall almost 25000 Great Wall vehicles after it was discovered there were asbestos components in its engine and exhaust system. When Ateco discovered the problem they immediately had their supplier change these parts on all new cars imported from China. They also began to work with authorities to determine what steps should be taken in response to the problem. One thing that they did not do, however, was inform the general public of this issue. This is a particularly serious concern since most Australians are extremely sensitive to the problems posed by asbestos, having been misled by former Australian-based manufacturer James Hardie about the lethal diseases that can often arise from continued exposure. A crusade led by the late Bernie Banton took decades of effort before James Hardie accepted its liability and established a compensation fund for the victims of asbestosis, finally admitting that it had known of the damage that asbestos could cause for generations before it ceased manufacturing building and industrial materials from the lethal substance. In this case, however, Ateco has claimed that its Chinese manufacturing partners lied about the safety of their engines, assuring them that there were no components whatsoever that contained asbestos. Paul Bastian, of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, has called Ateco's importation of the cars a 'breach of our Customs and regulation and other legislation', and demanded that Ateco recall every one of the cars and replace the asbestos gaskets at their own cost. Bastian argues that criminal prosecutions should be pursued if any officer of the company had knowingly broken any of Australia's laws as they relate to health and safety.79 When news of the asbestos problem made its way around the world, the shares of Great Wall dropped significantly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Further, when a company spokesperson indicated that the Australian problem arose because Chinese workers 'mistakenly used a wrong batch of parts that wasn't supposed to be used in cars exported to Australia', further questions arose since the use of asbestos has been banned in 55 countries since 2003. As motoring journalist Tim O'Brien asked, 'which countries do import Great Wall and Chery cars where parts containing asbestos are quite deliberately and purposely used?' In the meantime, apart from the Ateco company spokesperson who has stated that 'we're very surprised and disappointed with this situation. It's a difficult situation — not one of our making, and not one that we are at all satisfied or happy about', the company's reputation continues to be trashed; the resale value of its vehicles will likely continue to decline; and there is not a single mention of the problem on the websites of Ateco or its brand, Great Wall Motors. Perhaps the Great Wall isn't so great after all.   Questions 1. It has been said that 'perception is reality' since what we perceive is what we then accept as reality and as fact. Do you think that this is the case with Great Wall Motors? Is the perception that some consumers have that the vehicles are of relatively low-quality accurate? Is it worsened by the asbestos situation? Explain your answer. 2. Do you think that Ateco handled the asbestos problem appropriately? Provide support for your response. 3. What other options could organisations take when faced with a major public relations (PR) problem such as the one which currently confronts Ateco and their Great Wall and Chery brands? 4. Toyota's stereotype of providing a high-quality vehicle was only slightly tarnished by a safety recall for their Hilux Ute in 2010. Are stereotypes always true? How can we manage in ways that lessen the negative impacts of the stereotypes that we hold of other individuals, groups, organisations or brands, especially if the stereotype has no real basis in reality?