Auto sales model accelerates reconstruction
A few days ago, the "2021-2022 China Automobile Circulation Industry Development Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was officially released.
The "Report" shows that by the end of 2021, the total number of passenger car dealers will be 29,318, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. Among them, the network of independent brands has grown strongly.
Regarding the development of the automobile circulation industry this year, Xiao Zhengsan, vice president and secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that due to the continuous multi-point and frequent outbreak of the epidemic, the rise in international commodity prices, and the surge in supply chain risks, the new automobile market has been affected by multiple factors. The downward pressure on the market has further increased and exceeded expectations.
"The value chain of the automobile industry is being restructured at an accelerated pace, and the automobile market is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities, which will put forward higher requirements for the circulation industry." Xiao Zhengsan believes that products and technologies, markets and demands are changing with each passing day, especially new The exploration of the channel model triggered by energy vehicle products on a global scale is forcing the automobile circulation industry to accelerate the transformation and upgrading.
Channel diversification has become a new trend
Xiao Zhengsan pointed out that, on the one hand, the knockout stage of brand manufacturers has begun to accelerate, which will bring about changes in distribution channels, and used car business will become the most core strategic business segment for dealers; on the other hand, new energy vehicles are emerging and market penetration. The rate of sales of new energy vehicles has increased rapidly, and the proportion of personal car purchases has increased significantly. It is expected that the target of new energy vehicle sales accounting for more than 20% of new car sales will be achieved 1 to 2 years ahead of schedule.
With the gradual loosening of the used car policy, the used car market has high hopes in the industry.
Lang Xuehong, deputy secretary general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, believes that the used car market will usher in a golden decade of development, and expects used cars to maintain an average annual growth rate of more than 20%.
Based on the above prediction, by the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the annual transaction volume of used cars will reach 30 million, which is basically the same as that of new cars.
Will promoting the development of the used car market squeeze out the consumption of new cars?
Lang Xuehong told reporters that he had heard many similar concerns.
But in fact, consumers who dispose of second-hand cars will not become car-free users, and will buy a new car with a high probability. If there is a healthy and active second-hand car market, every second-hand car disposed of is actually Will drive demand for a new car.
The rapid development of the new energy vehicle market has driven the rapid expansion of the new energy vehicle channel network, and has gradually formed a network of 4S dealers, showrooms/experience centers, and after-sales service centers in the form of channels that undertake different functions.
The "Report" shows that in 2021, there will be 2,468 new 4S dealers, mainly from luxury brands and independent and new energy brands.
Lang Xuehong introduced that with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, manufacturers have increased their investment in the construction of new energy channels, and have chosen a common network or a separate network based on their own conditions.
At present, luxury brands mainly adopt the method of sharing the network, and most of the new energy high-end brands launched by independent brands adopt the method of splitting the network.
The joint venture brand takes the Volkswagen ID series as an example. On the one hand, it sells online through the original channels, and on the other hand, it encourages agents to set up supermarkets in commercial centers; GAC Honda has released a new channel for new energy vehicles.
"The new and old forces are exploring channel changes, the boundaries between models are blurred, and the service channels of new energy vehicles are also being reshaped." Lang Xuehong said that whether it is a shared network or a separate network, they will face their own challenges in the future, and the key is to ensure new energy vehicles. Energy-related services are professional and balance the interests of existing channels and networks.
Supermarkets enhance consumer experience
The "Report" shows that in 2021, the number of new energy vehicle stores located in shopping malls/shopping centers will grow rapidly, reaching more than 2,200, and nearly 70% of the stores will be concentrated in 20 cities.
Walking into Beijing's Blue Harbor, Hopson, Huaxi Shopping Center and other shopping malls, you can see many supermarkets and stores of new energy brands.
On the 5th floor of Beijing Heshenghui, the open space of nearly 3,000 square meters in the atrium is now divided into several areas, where nearly 10 new energy vehicle brands are stationed.
After consumers visit one store, they can go to another store to continue shopping.
The sales staff of Xiaopeng Motors revealed when introducing to reporters that the Hopson store has a good sales volume, and sometimes it can sell hundreds of units a month.
"First-tier cities have the highest density of supermarkets, with an average of 107 supermarkets in each city." Lang Xuehong said that supermarkets can also be seen in third- and fourth-tier cities, especially in the eastern coastal areas.
Supermarkets can improve consumer experience and promote brand promotion. They are still in a period of rapid development. However, due to the limited resources for suitable location selection in cities, the supply resources for supermarkets will gradually become scarce in two or three years, and the cost of building stores will rise.
For car companies to seize the market, we have to start with Tesla.
However, as more and more car companies began to enter the mall, Tesla closed some supermarket stores and began to overweight the traditional 4S store model.
Tesla's reversal, coupled with the news that other brands' supermarkets are closing, has caused concern in the industry.
In this regard, Zhang Junyi, director and partner of Oliver Wyman Consulting, said that when new energy vehicle brands first started brand recognition, they would frantically snatch the business district.
"This is actually an eye-catching behavior. When the brand has gained popularity and sales have also increased, the number of stores will definitely be dynamically adjusted. Stores with high conversion rates will continue to open, and stores with low conversion rates and low cost performance will continue to open. It will definitely be shut down."
Will supermarkets ebb?
Lang Xuehong said that Tesla is actually taking two paths at the same time. While opening the 4S store mode, Tesla is still looking for shopping malls and supermarkets in Shandong, Hebei and other regions.
The supermarket store should not be just a fixed outlet. The channel format should gradually develop to 4S stores, experience, delivery, maintenance, sheet metal spray centers and other formats. Pop-up stores with non-fixed locations will also be adopted by more brands.
Digital Transformation Drives Innovation
Lang Xuehong pointed out that throughout 2021, multiple factors, such as repeated local epidemics and insufficient supply of hot-selling models due to chip shortages, disrupted the sales rhythm and made it more difficult for dealers to respond to market changes.
At the same time, the high cost of customer acquisition and the reduction of customer flow are the core pain points of dealers.
Faced with many pressures and challenges, auto dealers pay more attention to digital transformation, and hope to establish a car sales and management system centered on customer needs through digital construction, explore the value of customers throughout their life cycle, optimize profit structure, and improve profitability.
The digital marketing of Shijiazhuang Xinshan Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd., the Subaru brand of Pangda Automobile Trading Group, starts from the new media drainage.
According to Cui Xiaofeng, the company's after-sales manager, the store has increased the number of viewers through live video broadcasts and obtained more clues. It has also opened online websites such as Autohome, Yiche, and Understanding Chedi to gain more new customer development and clues.
In addition, some small videos of car maintenance are often produced and pushed to old customers to strengthen relationship maintenance.
Zibo Aowei Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. of FAW-Volkswagen Audi brand of Yuanfang Automobile Trading Group chose Douyin as the main position for new media exploration.
It started operation in March 2021, uploaded 377 videos, and received 41,000 likes. From March 2021 to February 2022, a total of 616 people entered the store and 131 units were sold.
"From zero transactions at the beginning, to 2, 4, and gradually stabilized to 20... New media channels have now become an important part of sales." Wang Yanbo, director of the company's used car, believes that new media media can Overcome the difficulties in the marketing of used cars, such as showing the details of vehicles that customers care about through new media, expanding the geographical scope of car viewing groups; through daily live broadcasts, it is possible to obtain customer needs and feedback, and it is easier to gain customer trust.
At the same time, he also pointed out that the videos you shoot must conform to your product positioning, focusing on car display and knowledge videos. You don’t necessarily have to force the speed of fan growth, but focus on the quality of fans.
Through accurate positioning, a virtuous circle will be gradually formed, and finally all fans will be vertical fans, and the monetization ability will be very strong.
Zhao Chunhong, deputy director of the Industrial Coordination Development Working Committee of China Automobile Dealers Association, believes that new media is not only a more efficient marketing channel for the used car industry, but also a powerful tool for expanding business scope.
In the context of the mobile Internet, car dealers must take advantage of new media traffic as soon as possible, attract customers to monetize, realize digital and intelligent transformation, and continuously inject vitality into car dealers and the used car industry.
Liu Jin