Sino-Singapore Jingwei Client, November 13th (Fu Yumei) Is new energy second-hand car good business?
In recent years, due to problems such as low retention rate, the development space of new energy second-hand vehicles is limited.
In addition to the car owners whose cars were sold at "cabbage prices" a few years later, there are also car dealers engaged in the sales and acquisition business.
"Except Tesla loses money", once became an unbreakable law in the new energy used car market.
The second-hand car market data chart, new Jingwei photo by Fu Yumei
With the release of the "New Energy Automobile Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)" (hereinafter referred to as the plan), the prospect of new energy vehicles becoming the mainstream has become clear. Will the used car market also take advantage of the trend?
Recently, some new signs indicate that the new energy used car market is expected to usher in an inflection point.
A car dealer told a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei that now he can make more money from selling new energy second-hand vehicles than fuel vehicles, and the transaction volume is also rising, which gives him hope.
"A race against time" business
"New energy vehicles are being updated faster and faster, their cruising range continues to increase, and old cars cannot be sold at a price. For new cars, individual manufacturers will change quickly and reduce prices quickly, and we will lose if we fail." Liu Cheng (a pseudonym), a second-hand car dealer, told a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei.
In fact, Liu Cheng’s headache is a common phenomenon in the industry. The low-value preservation rate of new energy vehicles has a long history.
According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association (hereinafter referred to as the Automobile Dealers Association), with the exception of Tesla, the value retention rate of three-year-old new energy vehicles (including electric and plug-in hybrid) generally does not exceed 40%.
This also determines its price space. For example, a car that starts at 150,000 yuan can only sell for 50,000 yuan after 3 years.
At the same time, because of the high loss rate of vehicle endurance, it is also difficult for vehicles to find buyers.
Therefore, new energy second-hand cars have long been in a dilemma of "car owners are unwilling to sell, and car dealers are unwilling to receive".
Screenshot of the ranking of new energy second-hand car's 3-year value retention rate source: Automobile Dealers Association
For car dealers, they face greater price pressures after taking back used cars.
Engaged in the new energy second-hand car business in 2017, Liu Cheng once witnessed the price "diving" all the way.
"A car with a battery life of 200km will cost more than 50,000 yuan in 2018. Last year it could sell for more than 40,000 yuan. This year it can only sell for less than 30,000 yuan."
Liu Cheng said that before and after the issuance of Beijing's small passenger car indicators, the circulation of vehicles will be correspondingly faster, but most of the time they are "urgent".
"If the recovered car cannot be sold for more than one and a half months, it will become a loss-making business with a high probability. If you lose a little, you have to sell it quickly, just like a race against time."
Liu Cheng is a group of people who entered the new energy used car industry earlier.
According to Liu Cheng's report, when he first joined the trade, there were very few new energy used cars in the market like him.
Now more and more people are entering the game, but it makes his situation more difficult.
"When there are more people, the price will be more transparent. And because of the epidemic, the source of the car is more difficult to find, and there are more people competing. You can give it less, and whoever takes the car may take it. You can give it a higher price. , It is possible that you will not make money or even lose money.” Liu Cheng said that his profit from selling a car is generally only between 2,000 yuan and 4,000 yuan.
Yang Jiang, a second-hand car employee in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, is one of the newcomers entering this market segment.
Yang Jiang, who has been in the used car industry for 13 years, did not officially participate in the operation of new energy used car offline stores in Hangzhou until October 2019.
"It's really hard to do. The biggest problem is the source of the car and the after-sales service." Yang Jiang told the Zhongxin Jingwei reporter that in order to prevent the car from falling in price and not being sold, they are more cautious when receiving the car and will try to choose the original warranty. Quasi-new car.
It is not easy to find the source of vehicles. “The previous collection of fuel vehicles was basically a large number. However, the number of new energy vehicles themselves is still limited, and the proportion of private users is not high.”
According to data on compulsory motor vehicle accident liability insurance, in 2019, 451,000 new energy passenger vehicles owned by individuals were insured, accounting for about 52.6%, and the remaining 47.4% came from unit users and travel platforms.
The latter's vehicles are mostly older and have always been unpopular in the used car market.
"What you make is money with poor recognition"
However, this "difficult" business seems to Yang Jiang to be a new blue ocean.
"If everyone considers the safest business, do you still have a chance? In essence, everyone makes money with poor recognition."
Yang Jiang has a personal understanding of the concept of "poor cognition" that sounds mysterious.
He told reporters from Sino-Singapore Jingwei that because he always heard complaints about new energy vehicles such as difficulty in charging and poor endurance, he was initially opposed to new energy vehicles.
It wasn't until later that he came into contact with the new energy second-hand car business and personally drove a new energy car, that he gradually changed, to the point that he now drives a new energy car even for long-distance business trips.
"You need experience to know." Yang Jiang said, this is even more so when it comes to the industry, because there is no model for making new energy second-hand cars. He also broke many of his originals in "crossing the river by feeling the stones". Anticipation.
Due to the license policy, Yang Jiang was full of expectations for Hangzhou's physical stores at first.
Under the restrictions on traffic and licenses in Hangzhou, licenses for new energy vehicles do not require lottery and bidding, and they can be applied for after meeting the conditions.
Yang Jiang, who has experienced North and Shenzhen license plate auto markets, knows the importance of license plates.
“You can get a license when you buy a new energy vehicle. Hangzhou is a new first-tier city with great consumption potential. At first, we thought that new energy used vehicles should be easy to open the market.” Yang Jiang said.
However, the actual operating results were not satisfactory. Sales did not improve for several months, and Yang Jiang was also puzzled.
During the epidemic this year, due to the company's business development needs, a new store was opened in Taizhou, which is nearly 300 kilometers away from Hangzhou.
"At first I thought, in Taizhou, where there is no limit on licenses, anyone would ask for new energy second-hand cars? Unexpectedly, economical new energy second-hand cars that were not easy to sell are very popular in Taizhou." Yang Jiang thought, perhaps it was. There are license restrictions in Hangzhou. As new energy vehicles are emerging, everyone will be more cautious in buying them, and they will be more inclined to new cars rather than second-hand cars.
And why is there an opportunity in Taizhou?
Who else did the car sell to?
Yang Jiang divides his customer base into three categories: the first category is early adopters; the second category is looking for affordable city scooters; and the third category is also its largest customer group, namely, running online and car-hailing The main driver.
According to a recent report from Taizhou Daily, local second-hand car dealers said that online car-hailing, logistics vehicles and other work vehicles are the mainstream of new energy second-hand vehicles.
A second-hand car dealer in Wenzhou, Zhejiang also told a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei that most of his new energy second-hand car customers are also online car-hailing drivers. “Private users use less for their own use, unless it is something like Tesla. Well-known brand, and if it's a new car."
"If it is to make money, then you must consider economic benefits. New energy second-hand cars are more affordable. Because the car prices are cheaper and the cost of charging is lower, running online car-hailing in the city will not require too much battery life." For example, Yang Jiang, for a quasi-new car that has been in operation for a year, the price of the car must be at least 60% to 70% off, which is much more cost-effective than a gasoline car.
After identifying the new market, the trading volume of Yang Jiang's company is getting higher and higher, from selling 20-30 new energy second-hand cars every month to 70-80 now, which has more than doubled.
In addition, he also said that the current profit rate of new energy used vehicles is gradually higher than that of fuel vehicles. In their case, the profit rate of new energy vehicles is between 5%-8%, and that of fuel vehicles is only 3%-5%. .
In addition to the preservation rate, there are also these issues worthy of attention
The overall situation of the industry is indeed improving, and the increase in the trading volume of new energy second-hand vehicles also contributes to its increase in value retention.
According to the "Research Report on China's Automobile Value Preservation Rate in October 2020" issued by the Automobile Dealers Association, in October, whether it is a plug-in hybrid second-hand car or a pure electric second-hand car, the value retention rate was significantly higher than that in September.
Screenshot of the value preservation rate of new energy used cars Source: Automobile Dealers Association
Wang Meng, a senior expert in the second-hand car industry, told the Zhongxin Jingwei client that the current development of new energy second-hand cars has improved significantly compared with last year, and the overall transaction volume and value retention rate are on the rise.
In addition, in the market, apart from Tesla, models of new car manufacturers and joint venture brands have also increased slightly, mainly related to the market share of service outlets and product competitiveness.
The "New Energy Used Car Data Report" released by the online auction platform for second-hand cars Tiantian Paiche shows that the replacement cycle of new energy vehicles is shorter, and 13% of new energy vehicles are sold within 10,000 kilometers, which corresponds to this. However, only 3% of fuel vehicles are sold within 10,000 kilometers.
In addition, a total of 63% of new energy vehicles were sold when they had driven less than 50,000 kilometers.
As the number of new energy vehicles continues to increase, some analysts say that the market for new energy second-hand vehicles will enter the fast lane.
In addition to the preservation rate, what other problems are currently facing the industry?
Wang Meng said that the entire disposal channel, especially supporting facilities, still needs to be improved.
For example, he said that many car dealers promised free charging and charging piles when selling new cars, but the manufacturers of second-hand cars now ignore it, which is not conducive to the re-circulation of second-hand cars.
Regarding the overall working environment, Wang Meng believes that the entire trading and after-sales service system for new energy used vehicles has not been fully established. At the same time, it is difficult to replicate and standardize the business model by relying on online car-hailing passenger flow. The development of the industry requires the participation of more groups.
Wang Meng suggested that solving the corresponding problems depends on the overall layout of the country and the cooperation of enterprises.
"Manufacturers should keep the bottom line for the value preservation rate, improve charging, after-sales, and battery recycling services, provide guarantees for the circulation of used cars, and also dispel users' anxiety about the use of new energy vehicles."
Some brands have taken action on the preservation rate.
For example, when Geely Auto’s pure electric brand Geometry launched its second model Geometry C, it simultaneously released a "2 years 30% off" value-preserving repurchase policy. Weimar also launched a "2 years up to 60% off" bare car. Official hedging repurchase rights.
The Automobile Dealers Association pointed out that, with the exception of individual models of Tesla and BMW, the gap in the value retention rate of new energy vehicle brands has gradually narrowed.
However, self-owned brand electric vehicles still lack disposal channels and transaction activity is low.
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Council, told the Sino-Singapore Jingwei Client that the industry is currently in a process of waiting for new products to gradually stabilize.
"Many of the old models that are flowing into the market now are old models in the past, and it will take some time for new products to enter the used car market. This waiting period will take about 1-2 years, and the overall value preservation rate and transaction activity will continue to increase. In addition, , The enterprise must not only rely on repurchase and other methods, but also the improvement of technology."
The plan points out that by 2025, China's new energy vehicle sales will reach about 20% of total vehicle sales.
Liu Cheng is also looking forward to the development of used cars.
Recalling the reasons for entering the industry, he said that the fuel vehicle used car market has been relatively saturated, and new energy vehicles are the future trend, so he hopes to seize the used car market share before the trend arrives.
Now, despite facing new challenges, he still believes that his judgment at the time was not wrong.
(Zhongxin Jingwei APP)
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