4S shop is no stranger, are old regular customers.
The earliest 4S store in China was introduced by Guangzhou Honda, and at the beginning it was for better sales, integrating vehicle sales, spare parts, after-sales service, and information feedback. Because of the good effect, the back was imitated by major car companies and quickly covered.
However, just recently, Honda suddenly announced in Australia that it will cancel the 4S shop model, and new cars can only be booked on the honda auto official website, and 4S shops will no longer sell new cars.
In addition to Honda, Mercedes-Benz also reported that it will carry out the sales model of "online ordering and offline pick-up" for the Australian market from January next year.
In fact, the cancellation of the 4S store is not necessarily a bad thing, the biggest advantage is that the retail price of the new car is truly unified, and the market price will not be different because of the dealer, which also means that the traditional 4S shop dealer has no bargaining power on the new car price.
1
Will the Mainland 4S store disappear?
Now that Australia has cancelled 4S stores, will this happen in China after that? Will the Mainland 4S store disappear?
4S stores showed negative growth, and the "new retail" model sprouted
Especially in recent years, due to the epidemic, consumer positive online shopping habits, and the internet environment, according to statistics, the number of authorized dealers in the mainland in 2020 for the first time in 2020 showed negative growth, the number of 4S store network fell to 28229, down 5.8% year-on-year.
In 2020, a total of 3920 4S stores were withdrawn, with an average of more than 10 exits per day.
In this severe environment, traditional 4S stores have suffered an unprecedented blow, forcing automakers to find new ways out and transform the "new retail" model.
It is difficult to cancel it completely, but there are more and more direct operating models
The traditional 4S stores are deeply rooted and numerous, and the "cake" of tens of thousands of 4S stores across the country is not casually shaken, and the after-sales service is inseparable from the 4S store for a long time, and it is difficult to cancel it for a time. But from the influx of new car-making forces, we have seen more and more experience stores and direct sales models.
Many new power brands such as Tesla, Weilai, xiaopeng and so on have basically abandoned the sales model of traditional 4S stores, but adopted the experience store and direct operation model.
Pay more attention to the experience of offline flagship stores, and most of the locations of directly operated store experience stores are selected in bustling business circles such as shopping malls, large shopping malls, and CBDs, and the sense of product experience is strengthened through scene marketing. I attach great importance to user experience and care more about word of mouth.
New cars are sold directly by manufacturers, placing orders on the official website or APP, and then watching and picking up cars in offline stores (manufacturers' self-operated stores), which is the sales model adopted by the current new car-making brand.
2
Is the new model of buying a car expensive or cheap?
Whether it is the traditional 4S store distribution model or the direct operation model of "online car booking, offline car pick-up". For consumers, the most concerned is whether it is more expensive or cheaper to buy a car in the direct-operated model?
It is possible to be cheaper
For some models with firm prices or even increased prices, it will be cheaper because the price is fixed.
For example, some models such as Lexus, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz that need to be increased in price can stand on the "same running line".
On the other hand, crazy price increases like lexus ES plus tens of thousands, Mercedes-Benz big G plus hundreds of thousands of dollars, to a certain extent, have been curbed.
Potentially more expensive
Like Land Rover, Volvo, Jaguar, Cadillac and other brands, some models terminal discount is larger, if the online also according to the guide price, the competitiveness is bound to be greatly reduced.
If online sales are also sold at a price close to the terminal, the existing pricing system also needs to be torn down and restarted.
Therefore, to say whether the new model is cheap or expensive, it is not easy to draw conclusions now, and it depends on the specific situation of the specific model. But it is certain that the new sales model will make the price more transparent and open, without too much consideration of the dealer will increase the price or preferential, their own buy loss or buy earned questions. This sales model is also a major innovation and progress.
3
What about future car repairs?
If the future 4S store is gone, then what about the maintenance after-sales service? Who should I look for? At present, it will be roughly divided into two situations, official after-sales and third-party after-sales centers.
Taking Tesla's after-sales channels as an example, the current Tesla after-sales service network system is divided into two blocks, one is Tesla's self-operated after-sales service center, and the other is the authorized sheet metal spray center.
Among them, Tesla's self-operated after-sales service center is used to solve vehicle inspection, maintenance, fault diagnosis and repair business, while the authorized sheet metal spray center handles more accident vehicle maintenance.
However, based on the development of the automotive industry, there is a great possibility that third-party after-sales centers will develop into after-sales services that are no longer a single brand, but for multiple car brands, which is the model adopted by many luxury cars now.
For example, Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo.
As we all know, the form of automobiles in the new energy market is different from traditional fuel vehicles, especially in terms of maintenance, which presents modular maintenance and relies on technical support. After there is no need for maintenance of the engine, it will save a lot of effort at the after-sales level.
4
Write at the end
For the automotive industry, a new situation of multi-channel integration and coexistence is taking shape.
Although the direct operation model is a popular trend, its development is still in its infancy, and there are still too many uncontrollable factors to fully subvert. The traditional 4S store model will still dominate the market for some time to come, but it must also seize the opportunity to embrace change to cope with a new test of the market.
Therefore, for a long time in the future, it will be a situation in which multiple channels will coexist, which will also help consumers enjoy more high-quality car services and car experiences.