A wealthy Chinese businessman hired a crew to smash his Maserati supercar to protest poor customer service in a highly publicized stunt that raised eyebrows amid an austerity drive by the government in Beijing.
In a video posted on YouTube, people were seen gathering around as four men attacked the glossy black supercar with sledgehammers at the Qingdao Auto Show.
One of the men said the owner, identified only by his surname Wang, was protesting “poor sales service” at the Maserati dealership in Qingdao where the car was purchased.
Wang bought the luxury car in 2011 for 2.6 million yuan ($420,000) – around 100 times the average income of Chinese urban residents last year.
After experiencing problems with his Maserati Quattroporte, Wang took it back to the dealership for repair and was reportedly charged more than he thought it would cost.
“I hope foreign luxury car producers acknowledge clearly that Chinese consumers are entitled to get the service that is commensurate with the brand,” Wang told the Qingdao Morning Post.
The Italian manufacturer called the incident a “publicity stunt” and said it had been working with the businessman to resolve his complaints, reports CNBC.
