The vitality of the May 1st car market has recovered, and online car shopping has become a new highlight

On April 28, the "Several Measures to Further Promote Consumption in Guangdong Province" clearly proposed to encourage automobile consumption, and the amount of subsidies was 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan. Driven by the policy, a number of dealers responded positively, and launched a large number of promotional activities during the "May Day" holiday to attract consumers to the store.

During the "May Day" holiday, the southern + reporter visited and found that the performance of the Guangdong automobile market was stable, the residents' consumption willingness was continuously improved, and the consumer demand was continuously released. At the moment of repeated epidemics, online car shopping has become a new consumption highlight, emerging marketing methods such as live broadcasting, camping, and blind boxes have promoted consumption, and online and offline channels have been jointly empowered, injecting new vitality into the Guangdong auto market and stimulating the growth of automobile consumption.

The "May Day" market is stable, and the demand for high-end consumers is obvious

Southern + reporter visited and found that Japanese brands and some luxury brands have a high degree of attention, and the market manager of a Japanese brand 4S store told reporters that only on the first morning of the small long holiday, 28 batches of customers arrived at the store and received 5 orders. He said, "Guangdong's policy of promoting automobile consumption is good for us, the current brand supply is normal, and the epidemic has little impact for the time being." Another luxury brand distribution store, The Southern + reporter also learned that it received more than a dozen orders on the first day.

The staff of a large dealer group in Guangdong told Nanfang + reporter that the passenger flow and sales volume during the "May Day" holiday were relatively stable, but the transaction volume was still greatly affected by the epidemic. "The total sales of the 'May Day' small long holiday were more than 2,000 units, and the sales volume on the first day was 388 units, compared with 412 units in the same period last year, which declined." Brands with large turnover include GAC Toyota, GAC Honda and SAIC-GM-Wuling, and the order volume during the small and long holiday period is more than 60 units. ”

With the continuous improvement of guangdong's automobile consumption level, the consumption upgrade and purchase market has a large space, and the consumption upgrade of the automobile market is becoming more and more obvious. The Southern + reporter found that consumers' demand for high-end auto products is more intense, "the best sales volume is Camry, because the customer consumption structure continues to upgrade, and the demand for high-end products is higher." A marketing manager of GAC Toyota told reporters.

On April 29, the list of models promoted by the new energy vehicle purchase subsidy activity in Guangdong Province was announced, and a total of 49 new energy vehicles can enjoy a car purchase subsidy of 8,000 yuan / unit.

In a new energy vehicle brand distribution store, the reporter felt "full of popularity", and there were not a few customers who saw new cars, negotiated prices, came to consult and test drive. The store's sales manager told reporters that on the first day of the "May Day" holiday, the passenger flow increased by 38% compared with the average daily passenger flow, although the transaction volume was the same as the same period, but the intention to buy a car was significantly improved. "Affected by the epidemic, the overall wait-and-see attitude of the market is strong, but with the state's strong support for the development of the new energy automobile industry, the introduction of favorable policies for the consumption of new energy vehicles in Guangzhou, the enthusiasm of consumers to buy cars is prominent, there are more online inquiry customers, and the on-site customer turnover industry continues to increase." He said.

Under the epidemic, have new energy vehicles been greatly affected by the supply side? The sales manager admitted that the impact is certain, but due to the current stock of hot models, there is no delivery difficulty for the time being.

However, many brand dealers also reported that consumers' enthusiasm for car purchases has cooled down, and the wait-and-see mood is still strong. Guangdong Yuebao sales director told the Southern + reporter that on the morning of the first day of the small long holiday, more than a dozen groups of customers arrived at the store, but compared to last year, the order was not ideal. "We are an A-class dealer, and we plan to deliver 4,000 cars a year, and the pressure is still relatively large."

The sales staff of a cadillac dealership also said that the passenger flow in the store is not high, and some models are in short supply of resources, and the company has made corresponding response plans. Also affected by the repeated epidemics, a market manager at SAIC Volkswagen dealers said that the passenger flow during the "May Day" holiday fell significantly, and sales fell year-on-year. "At present, the user's wait-and-see is relatively strong, the willingness of customers to take the initiative to come to the store is not strong, and the enthusiasm is not high," he said, "The current introduction of the pro-consumption policy is good news for dealers and has a certain help to drive automobile consumption." ”

"Online and offline" joint, camping and car shopping has become a new highlight

During this year's "May Day" holiday, automobile consumption showed an obvious consumption trend - online and offline channels are more closely linked, and online car shopping has become a new highlight of the "May Day" holiday car market to promote consumption. Driven by the introduction of automobile consumption policies, emerging car marketing methods such as live broadcasting, camping, and blind boxes are in full swing.

The hottest way to get out this year is camping. Guangwu Auto Trade linked nearly 200 franchise stores across the country to build a "May Day" car purchase camp in Several major car cities in Guangzhou, Foshan and Shanwei, and launched the "May Day" promotion war. By combining the two popular concepts of new energy vehicles and outdoor camps, Guangwu Auto Trade has arranged a special new energy auto show to create a "summer car purchase camp" and take the trendy gameplay of the car purchase camp as a "breakthrough point", attracting many car owners to go.

At the same time, Guangwu Auto Trade promotes automobile consumption through offline channels, combined with the consumption policies introduced by various places, and adopts the method of "adapting to local conditions" to promote automobile consumption. For example, Shanwei Guangwu Automobile City launched ten major gifts for car purchase, while Foshan Guangwu Automobile City adopted the marketing method of on-site car ordering and blind boxes, attracting many consumers with creativity and atmosphere.

At the moment of repeated epidemics, many dealers have also innovated and integrated online and offline channels to reduce crowd gathering and improve the sense of car buying experience. A large dealer group in Guangdong has created an online auto show through VR showrooms, online live broadcasts, etc., and has directly contacted the benefits to the car owners by giving away car purchase packages, online lottery, gift certificate delivery, time-limited seconds, etc., so that more consumers can pick a good car and grab a good gift without going out.

Among them, the Cadillac brand not only launched the "May Day" offline group buying activity, but also jointly launched the "Cadillac May 1st Cloud Auto Show" with manufacturers, and sent out the "May Day" car purchase package online to stimulate consumer enthusiasm with an innovative car purchase experience. GAC Mitsubishi, Dongfeng Citroen, BMW Brilliance and other brand dealerships have launched special cars, and brought preferential treatment in many aspects of services and financial products, and did everything in their power to promote automobile consumption.

On an online car purchase platform, the car purchase package of new energy vehicles covers car prices, finance, replacement subsidies and other aspects of preferential treatment, with a cumulative preferential range of up to 80,000 yuan, attracting many consumers. "Now the price of oil is so expensive, I dare not drive a fuel car, I found that the profit margin of online new energy vehicles is very large, just booked one." A car buyer in Guangzhou introduced it to the Southern + reporter.

According to data from the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics, from January to February 2022, the consumer goods market in Guangdong continued to recover, with the sales output value of the automobile manufacturing industry reaching 166.79 billion yuan, an increase of 26.3% year-on-year, and the production of automobiles was 619,500 units, an increase of 33% year-on-year, of which new energy vehicles increased by 131,300 units, an increase of 205.2% year-on-year.

This data means that the Guangdong auto market still has great potential to be developed, especially in the field of new energy vehicle consumption. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, also said that Guangdong's introduction of automobile consumption policies will have a leading effect on the whole country, which is of great significance. Under the background of the successive introduction of local consumption promotion policies, the effect of government-enterprise coordination will become increasingly prominent, and at the same time, it will better stimulate the growth of automobile consumption.

How to choose a replacement new car? Subsidies are available for over 100 new cars

In the Guangdong action to promote automobile consumption, a total of 59 fuel models, 49 new energy models can enjoy subsidies, and consumer replacement choices are very rich, which greatly promotes the upgrading and transformation of automobile consumption.

In terms of fuel vehicles, the fuel models that enjoy the trade-in subsidy cover cars, SUVs and MPVs, including well-known joint venture brand models such as Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Nissan, Gac Honda, and GAC Toyota, while independent brands such as Changan Automobile, Great Wall Motor, and Geely Automobile are also shortlisted, giving consumers a wide range of exchange options.

The analysis of the Southern + reporter found that the fuel vehicles involved in the trade-in subsidy are mainly affordable models, and about six have become joint venture brand models, including GAC Toyota Camry, GAC Honda Accord, Dongfeng Nissan Xuanyi and other models. Similarly, self-owned brand models include the Great Wall Haval H6, GAC Passenger Car GS4, FAW Hongqi H5 and other popular models.

In terms of new energy vehicles, a total of 45 new energy passenger cars and 4 new energy commercial vehicles can enjoy a purchase subsidy of 8,000 yuan per vehicle, including a total of 18 independent brands and joint venture brands inside and outside the province, such as GAC Eian, Xiaopeng Automobile, BYD, GAC Toyota, etc.

Among them, the AION Y, which sold nearly 10,000 units in March, was equipped with the brand's unique "magazine battery", while the Xiaopeng P7 won the hearts of the people with its outstanding performances such as high-speed NGP intelligent navigation assistance system and parking memory parking, and became the leader of the camp of new car-making forces. Independent brands represent BYD, in recent years in the field of new energy vehicles developed rapidly, Song PLUS DM-i above the green card, long endurance, low energy consumption and other characteristics deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Among the Japanese brands loved by the old Guangzhou, pure electric models such as the GAC Honda EA6 and the GAC Toyota iA5 can enjoy the purchase subsidy of 8,000 yuan.

[Reporter] Gong Qianshu, Huang Xiaoyun, Wei Hongquan

【Author】 Gong Qianshu; Huang Xiaoyun; Wei Hongquan

【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client