Make an appointment online, and don’t have to wait for in-store repairs; flexible production, timely response to small batch parts orders; modification and beauty, making the driving experience more comfortable... In recent years, new technologies, new products, new formats, and new models in my country’s automotive aftermarket have continued to emerge. , the potential of automobile consumption has been further released, effectively promoting the scale growth, structural optimization and quality improvement of the automobile aftermarket.
Digital green transformation, automobile maintenance service quality improvement
"My car was scratched a few days ago. I made an appointment through the mobile app to go to the store without queuing. Add the car model and year of purchase, and intelligently recommend corresponding accessories. It's really convenient." Mr. Zhang from Hefei, Anhui, went to a car maintenance store to repair his car. The repair is completed and the process is comfortable.
After the vehicle was inspected, Mr. Zhang received an electronic quotation. The required goods and services are each indicated with the quantity and price. Car owners can check the vehicle's inspection status on the mobile app. The quotation is consistent with the inspection record. There are no additional recommended services, which solves problems such as opaque information and prices. Nowadays, more and more consumers choose to carry out car repairs through the "integrated online and offline" platform, and the related business volume has achieved rapid growth.
The level of digitalization of automobile maintenance has improved, and the pace of greening is also accelerating. In a green shared spray-painting center in Linping District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the dust in the dry mill was sucked into integrated bags, and the dust collection efficiency reached 98%.
"The entire process uses water-based paint, uses dry grinding technology to replace the traditional water grinding process, and is also equipped with composite environmental protection equipment, which can realize the full process control of waste from source to end." Xiao Quangui, the relevant person in charge of the center, said that some small cars Due to the lack of professional equipment and personnel in repair shops, the operation process can easily cause environmental pollution. Nowadays, surrounding auto repair shops can come here to share services.
As of the end of 2023, the number of cars in the country is 336 million, and the average age of passenger cars has exceeded 6 years, and the demand for maintenance services has increased accordingly. "The size of my country's automobile maintenance and repair market will be approximately 1.42 trillion yuan in 2020, and it is expected that the market size will reach 1.74 trillion yuan by 2025." Li Tongmei, deputy director of the After-sales Parts Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said.
Li Tongmei believes that the current car maintenance services still have the characteristics of "small and scattered": on the one hand, standardization and standardized operations need to be strengthened, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in the quality and level of maintenance services; on the other hand, around the maintenance of new energy vehicles, The service system is still in its infancy and needs to strengthen its technical level and professional talent pool.
Different from traditional fuel vehicles, the maintenance of new energy vehicles mainly focuses on the "three electricity" systems such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls. However, there is currently a large gap in technicians who are proficient in the "three electricity" maintenance. In response to this practical demand, some automobile service platforms have explored school-enterprise cooperation models to cultivate high-skilled talents.
At the practical training base of Guizhou Electronic Technology Vocational College, students looked for problems and performed maintenance on the parts of new energy vehicles - this is a school-enterprise cooperation practical course offered by Tuhu Automobile Care.
"We have established new energy vehicle classes and jointly developed courses with vocational colleges, and built industry-education integration bases and internship training bases in Shanghai, Guangdong, Guizhou and other places. We strive to train 1,200 relevant professional talents every year and gradually realize the store's oil "Electricity and repair." The person in charge of Tuhu Car Maintenance said that the new energy vehicle maintenance service market has huge potential, and the company is actively exploring the provision of tailor-made products and services, and cooperating with new energy vehicle brands to help them provide after-sales services.
Low-cost and high-efficiency docking, and the accessories circulation environment continues to be optimized
There are many car brands on sale in my country, and the types of auto parts vary from year to year and model. There is a huge demand for the supply of aftermarket parts. Promoting the high-quality development of the automotive aftermarket is inseparable from the upgrading of accessory products and the improvement of circulation efficiency. In recent years, relevant companies have conducted some explorations in this regard.
Small batch, flexible production, more timely response.
"The half-shaft products of this car are relatively niche. We have consulted with many companies in China but they cannot produce them. Can you provide them?" At 10 a.m., the phone rang from the domestic marketing and customer service department of Wenzhou Guansheng Auto Parts Group.
"No problem, please send the parameters and we will organize production immediately." The crisp answer made the customer very satisfied.
"Currently, Guansheng's product categories cover most car models and can meet customers' small batch and multi-variety order needs." Chen Xianghua, domestic marketing director of Guansheng Co., Ltd. told reporters that such confidence comes from the company's flexible production lines.
Walking into the production workshop, welding equipment and tooling fixtures can be quickly switched. Workers only need to select the workpiece number on the touch screen to automatically call the corresponding equipment program and organize production according to different delivery requirements. "We also use a smart production scheduling system. For example, after analyzing the data of orders in the next three months, we group products of the same model together for production, shortening the delivery cycle and saving production costs." Chen Xianghua said.
Full chain, digital docking, and smoother channels.
Open the Kaisi Auto Parts platform, and you will find swing arms, headlights, machine foot glue and other accessories. Enter the vehicle identification code and accessory name. It only takes a few seconds. Suppliers, quotations, 4S store reference prices, warranty and other information are clearly visible. .
"In the past, describing the required spare parts through phone calls, WeChat, etc. was inefficient, error-prone, and difficult to trace the source of the spare parts. If there is a quality problem, it is more difficult to find the supplier for warranty. Now through platform integration, spare parts information and procurement The process is more transparent," said Chen Zhongli, head of Ningbo Boxingxing Automobile Service Co., Ltd.
Jiang Yongxing, founder and CEO of Kaisi, said that the platform has opened up the entire chain from OEMs, manufacturers, auto parts dealers, repair shops to vehicles. Currently, there are more than 7,000 suppliers providing products and services to 270,000 repair shop users. service, with monthly service vehicles exceeding 3 million. “We have also developed an intelligent recognition function for handwritten work orders adapted to the maintenance industry, and can recommend purchasing plans. Not only that, the big data accumulated by the platform can also provide timely feedback to OEMs and manufacturers to help them improve product quality.”
In terms of optimizing the circulation environment of auto parts, some companies are targeting the county market and focusing on improving parts turnover efficiency. "The introduction of new energy vehicles to the countryside has brought broad space for the development of the automobile industry, but the traditional county maintenance market still has problems such as few chain stores, incomplete product categories, and long procurement and logistics cycles." Auto parts supply chain platform Guangdong Santou Liuji Information Technology Co., Ltd. Brand Operation Director Jiao Shiliang said that in recent years, the company has launched the "Bring Love Home" project to help migrant workers return to their hometowns to open auto parts stores, providing financial support, technical guidance, etc.; at the same time, through the combination of online purchasing and front-end warehouses, distribution efficiency has been improved Significant improvement.
The "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Automotive Aftermarket" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions") jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and other nine departments proposes to optimize the auto parts circulation environment. Actively expand auto parts circulation channels, build a multi-channel, multi-format auto parts circulation network, and meet consumers' diversified needs for auto aftermarket parts.
"With the rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce, online channels will become a new hot spot in the automotive after-sales parts industry, bringing new business models and development opportunities. Auto after-sales parts companies must strengthen the construction of online channels and provide more Convenient and high-quality services create a transparent, orderly and efficient accessories circulation environment," said Li Tongmei.
Personalized and diversified consumption, the car modification market is expanding steadily
In recent years, in order to adapt to the personalized, diversified and high-quality consumer needs of car owners, the car modification and beauty market has expanded steadily.
"Replacing a color-changing film on your car can not only keep it fresh, but also prevent scratches and protect the car's paint." At the Fugui Yizu Auto Repair and Maintenance Center in Hefei, Anhui, the car owner, Ms. Huang, took the color card in hand to choose the color of the color-changing film she liked. Shop owner Bao Weidong told reporters that he has been in this business for more than 20 years. In the past, customers came to the store mainly for car repairs. Now young people have greater demand for car modification and beauty. Invisible car clothes, color-changing films, anti-ultraviolet and anti-glare functional films, etc. are all very popular. Popular, prices range from a few thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.
Data shows that car modification and beauty projects such as wrapping, car body color modification, and upgrading of car audio equipment account for about 85% of the entire car modification market. In the first seven months of 2023, sales of Tuhu car window film, invisible car clothing, and color-changing film increased by more than 40%, more than 100%, and more than 300% year-on-year respectively.
Zhang Baoquan, secretary-general of the Aftermarket Quality Service Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that in recent years, with economic development and improvement of living standards, car modification, car beauty and other related products have shown trends such as personalization and sceneization, and body films, interior decoration, Products such as massage ventilated seats and assisted driving are recognized by users.
The "Opinions on Further Releasing Consumption Potential and Promoting the Sustained Recovery of Consumption" issued by the General Office of the State Council proposes to establish and improve the management mechanism of the automobile modification industry and accelerate the development of the automobile aftermarket.
"my country's automobile modification market is still in its infancy and has huge development potential. However, modification parts and modification operations have not yet formed a standardized system, and further improvement is needed in terms of compliance and standardization." Zhang Baoquan believes that the scope of modification needs to be further clarified To improve the standard system and improve the industrial chain, it is also necessary to strengthen industry supervision, establish unified standards for vehicle modification safety, quality and service, clarify pre-sales, in-sales and after-sales service standards, and intensify efforts to promote implementation.
The "Guiding Opinions" propose that "we will strive to achieve steady growth in the scale of the automotive aftermarket, continuous optimization of the market structure, and significant improvement in standardization levels by 2025." "Conforming to the new trends in automobile consumption and promoting technological innovation, model innovation, and business format innovation, the products and services in the aftermarket will be more abundant and meet the diversified consumption needs of consumers." Li Tongmei said. (People’s Daily reporters Ding Yiting, Liu Wenxin, Xu Jing and Dou Hanyang)