If you live in the surrounding area, there are large commercial districts. It is almost predictable that the store with the most traffic is no longer a clothing store with preferential promotions, but is replaced by a car showroom.
In the era we are currently in, car displays are increasingly dependent on business districts with huge foot traffic. Not only tesla, Weilai, Xiaopeng, Nezha, and zero-run of the new forces, traditional car companies have also chosen to close the original advantage exhibition hall in the core area of the city and enter the business circle instead. There is nothing wrong with the logic behind it, spending about the same amount of money, obviously what is popular is replaced by what.
It should be noted that behind the high dependence of vehicle display on the business circle is the direct operation model. Vehicle prices are consistent online and offline, transparent + relatively fair, eliminating the ripping process of many traditional 4S stores, many purchase decisions can be completed by relying on mobile phones /computers, go to the store as long as you look at the real car to verify your doubts and concerns, and then pick up the car.
Direct operation has long changed its flavor in 2022
The benefits of the direct operation model are obvious, but you and I both know that everything is always a coexistence of advantages and disadvantages, and blessings and misfortunes depend on each other. At present, many traditional car companies have also begun to change to direct sales, such as SAIC Volkswagen for the ID. series, SAIC Audi all series of direct sales, GAC Toyota Highlander's replacement use of the online-based direct operation model, tank brand use of online-based direct operation model, and more car companies, in the integration and optimization of their own traditional sales and service channels, in order to achieve the effect of the direct operation model.
But it is clear that direct sales are not effective magic weapons, and they have not changed the "poor experience" of consumers. The ID. series, relying on volkswagen's 4S store channel, is officially controlled by the public, ostensibly an app order and other fixed prices. However, the KPI's assessment of sales is too heavy, and there are a large number of 4S store terminals across the country to give more than 20,000 yuan of limited-time rights and interests, and the price has not been consistent online and offline, and the residual value of the first owner of the car has been directly damaged.
Highlander, because it did not solve the problem of the long pick-up cycle, offline has become a constraint, although GAC Toyota has a very severe punishment for the price disguised operation of the 4S store, but consumers have the need to "rush to pick up the car", which has become a new profit-making tool.
Tank brands, too. The fire of Tank 300, the number of Tank 500 today, and the impact of many dimensions of chip shortage and upstream and downstream supply chains, the pick-up cycle is at least 3 months. Despite the relevant control of the Great Wall Group, driven by interests, there are relevant transactions between orders, sales consultants place orders on their own, and finally quasi-new cars abound, and the rhythm of the second-hand car market is also disrupted.
The direct operation of traditional car companies is so, and most of the new forces are actually not much better.
Tesla, the car direct sales model to the mainstream of the industry enterprises. Its direct operation, although it can maintain the same online and offline prices, the sales consultant does not carry out too many inexplicable operations, just sell the car, explain, deliver, you can get a high commission. However, its direct operation model is to increase the price at will, and it is to share the cost of price increases to consumers indefinitely. And, with so much variation from technology to hardware to price to configuration, even professionals can't figure out where it's stealing concepts.
Xiaopeng, Ideal, Weima, Nezha, etc., have relatively good performance, but while rapidly promoting channels, many of the direct operation models of many enterprises use a mixed system. That is, agent + direct operation, including inviting Taoists to practice, and then such as collecting face information, etc., also reduce the consumer experience.
In essence, in the current direct operation model, the best performer is Weilai Automobile. After the channel completed the basic promotion and rollout, it gradually withdrew the agency business, but all of them were controlled and directly operated to ensure that the service quality was consistent with online and offline. Of course, Weilai's model is also not replicable, and it can be seen from the financial report that its operating expenses are extremely high, and its pricing and premium capabilities are at the top of the new forces, and the disposable cash flow is greater.
Direct operation, will it start to hurt consumers in 2025?
What does too much competition lead to? Everything in the Chinese auto market has been answered, from a few years ago with a high degree of homogeneous development and extreme cost compression, to now a high degree of internal volume.
When a car company uses new models, technologies, ways of thinking, etc., and successfully opens up the market, it will immediately have a large number of the same things launched.
BYD DM-i was a great success in 2021, and in 2022, you and I have seen Geely, Chang'an, Great Wall, Chery and other comprehensive follow-up.
Tesla's direct operation model has been a great success, and new forces and traditional car companies have completed the follow-up in a very short period of time.
In the field of power batteries, Ningde Times and BYD have achieved great success by relying on different technologies, and AVIC lithium batteries, honeycomb batteries, etc., have also quickly followed up with similar technologies.
The most terrible point is that this is where bad money drives out good money abounds.
The current direct operation model is only used in a few car brands, and in 2022 and beyond, we will see a large number of car companies complete the follow-up or change.
Behind this is an explosion of quantities, which has led to the continued pressure on the system. In 2021, Tesla's sales in China will exceed 480,000 units, the annual sales of head enterprises such as Weilai, Xiaopeng and Ideal will be between 90,000 and 100,000 units, and the total sales of car companies using the direct operation model will be about 1 million units.
It accounts for less than 5% of China's overall passenger car sales, but in such a small proportion, a large number of the above problems have arisen. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Geely, Great Wall, Changan, BYD, Chery, etc. have not yet followed up, if they follow up, the direct market will be developed in an instant.
If the existing direct operation model cannot be innovated, after a large number of enterprises follow up, the number of service personnel will grow so much that many people may not imagine.
In order to play differentiation, in order to ensure the profits of car companies, it is natural to further differentiate in direct operation and initially avoid internal rolling. For the sake of rapid change in profits, it is naturally the consumer who bears the cost in the end.
At the same time, the sales of traditional 4S stores will be infinitely differentiated, although the pre-sales profits of many 4S stores are currently at a loss and need to be leveled after sale. However, there are still many leaders who can ensure both pre-sales and after-sales profits. The bosses of the leaders are also in an important position in the chain of car companies, such as the investor group of FAW-Volkswagen Audi.
Write at the end:
Remember, in the consumer market, there is never a trick to eat fresh and change the day.
The higher the technical content of consumer goods, the more complex the evaluation system, and the more points that disrupt consumer thinking.
Would direct marketing be a good means? Naturally not, especially if you can ask your friends who have purchased new power models around them, how they have experienced direct sales. For another example, ask Tesla's front, middle and late car owners, what are the discomforts, or even damage.
Don't change your true thinking because of the so-called trend. Direct operation is not an absolute medicine, how big are its side effects? It takes time to verify.