Mr. Li booked a new car at a Xpeng Motors (09868.HK/XPEV.US) direct store, and less than two hours after paying the deposit, he received a call from another Xpeng authorized franchise store: "We saw that you just booked a Xpeng G3i, there is no need to decide so early, our side of the benefits are greater." Mr. Li has experience in getting wool from fuel vehicle dealers, and he is very excited about "welfare", so he changed the place of purchase after visiting the store to consult. "Free refund deposit, isn't it fragrant to give away a charging pile worth 5,000 yuan here?"
Recently, Red Star Capital Bureau visited a number of Xpeng Motors terminal stores to investigate in detail the relevant situation of directly operated stores and authorized franchised stores. Red Star Capital Bureau found that the phenomenon of Xpeng Motor's direct stores and authorized franchised stores rushing orders occurred from time to time. The act of order grabbing not only increases the additional burden of consumers comparing prices, canceling subscriptions, and reordering cars, but also reduces consumers' evaluation of Xpeng Motors. In addition, most of the benefits given by authorized dealers contain "moisture", and consumers can redeem points, which is essentially no different from directly operated stores.
The sales staff of Xpeng Motors said that for directly operated stores and authorized franchised stores, there is no difference in the amount of money that consumers need to pay, there may be differences in service quality, and there are great differences in car activities depending on the host body. In addition, Xpeng Motors explicitly prohibits price competition, and most of its benefits contain "moisture".
On February 20, Red Star Capital Bureau interviewed Xpeng Motors about the above phenomenon and the recent changes in the sales system. Xpeng Motors said that these questions are more sensitive and cannot be answered.
↑Xpeng Motors Sales Shop Photo by IC photo
The terminal basically has no price difference, and the giveaway may have "moisture"
Xpeng Motors' terminal sales channels adopt a hybrid model of "direct sales + authorized dealer franchise". In 2019, in order to accelerate channel construction and reduce costs, Xpeng Motors announced the opening of the authorized cooperative sales model, becoming the first new automaker to launch the distribution model. As of the third quarter of last year, the number of Xpeng Motors stores exceeded 400, of which authorized franchised stores accounted for about 30%.
How does this hybrid model ensure the experience of buying and using a car? How to eliminate internal friction in two systems? Xpeng Motors has also lowered the threshold for joining and individuals can become franchisees, which has exacerbated consumer concerns.
Recently, Red Star Capital Bureau visited 4 directly-operated stores, including flagship stores, and 2 authorized franchised stores. Of the 15 Xpeng stores in Chengdu, only 3 are franchised stores, all belonging to Ganghong Group, a local automobile dealer in Chengdu.
Red Star Capital Bureau found that basically all stores are displaying all models on sale (G3i, P5, P7, G9), and there is no phenomenon that authorized franchisees prefer high-priced models. The profit obtained by the authorized franchise stores for each car sold is fixed, and additional subsidies can be obtained for completing a certain number of sales tasks. Some directly-operated stores are limited by store area, and more popular models are displayed.
Red Star Capital Bureau consulted as consumers whether there were additional discounts, rights and gifts, and all sales staff denied it, saying that Xpeng Motors' unified terminal retail price, maintenance price, price reduction promotion policy, point benefits, financial policy, and even the service fee for roadside assistance are unified nationwide, the sales system is completely open, the whole process of car purchase is electronic, and no private charges are allowed.
↑Xpeng Motors' national unified pricing Photo by Red Star Capital Bureau
"Dealers don't have pricing power and don't host any events involving real money. For example, the recent 7-province group purchase is a promotion at the company level. A salesperson told the Red Star Capital Bureau, "Xiaopeng explicitly prohibits internal price wars, even if it is only 500 yuan, if it is discovered, it will be fined more than 200,000 yuan." There is basically no price difference in the terminal, and the dealer will send a mat at most. ”
For the giveaways promised by some dealers, Red Star Capital understands that there may be a lot of "moisture". For example, the official mat with the original price of 899 yuan may actually be a copycat bought from an e-commerce platform; Claiming that there is a preferential price for show cars, in fact, all stores can do it, and customers need to take the initiative to inquire; Charging piles are standard on some models and can be exchanged for points.
Mr. Chen, a direct store clerk of Xpeng, told Red Star Capital Bureau, "We can also help you do 'old with new', get points for introducing new customers, and exchange them for shopping mall goods such as charging piles." Exhibition vehicles and inventory vehicles, as long as they can be found to meet the requirements, can obtain corresponding rights and interests. ”
They belong to different departments and are competitive
Although Xpeng's price system is transparent, there is no difference between direct management and franchise channels, but it belongs to two departments and there is internal competition. Public information shows that Xpeng's direct sales channels are under the Xpeng Automobile Trading Company entity, and He Tao, co-founder and senior vice president, is in charge; Authorized distributors are under Xpeng's UDS (User Development Service Center) and are headed by Liao Qinghong, Xpeng's chief human resources officer and vice president of sales and service.
Red Star Capital Bureau learned that Xpeng Automobile's authorized franchise sector is responsible for its own profits and losses, and all personnel are recruited by authorized dealers themselves. The directly operated store said that the sales and service team of the franchised store is not as professional as the direct store system. "Some franchised stores do not have their own after-sales service centers and will send cars to the direct sales side. For the parts needed for maintenance, the franchised store should report the process, and the customer should wait; Technicians may also be ineffective in dealing with intractable conditions. Authorized dealers can also sell cars of other brands, and may not sell Xiaopeng one day. Direct stores are manufacturers, and the service is more efficient, convenient and more guaranteed. ”
The franchised store said that the team has been trained by Xpeng Motors, the service standards are uniform, and they all provide door-to-door test services, and some strong authorized dealers will also invest in operation delivery centers and after-sales service centers. For example, the Airport Road sales and service center in Chengdu is operated by the authorized distributor Ganghong Group.
Xpeng Motors has an "Easter egg car", which randomly gives 1500 kWh electricity or battery lifetime warranty. Directly-operated stores say that they have more car sources and have a greater chance of finding Easter egg carts; It is also said that the source of cars in franchised stores is relatively chaotic and may have defective cars. The franchised store said that everyone's car source is the same.
The rider activity is the most obvious difference between directly operated stores and franchised stores. According to reports, the organizer of the directly operated store event is Xpeng Motors, and the franchised store is an authorized dealer, so the content is very different. In addition, the flagship store will have exclusive activities such as replacement gifts, through Xpeng evaluation or selling cars, you will get physical gifts such as luggage and Dyson vacuum cleaners.
↑An authorized franchise store of Xpeng Motors Photo by Red Star Capital Bureau
The phenomenon of order grabbing has caused some consumer dissatisfaction
The most prominent contradiction between directly operated stores and franchised stores lies in order grabbing.
It is understood that after paying the deposit, consumers and Xpeng Motors' sales staff form a fixed one-to-one relationship, and personal information will be entered into Xpeng's sales system, and all sales personnel can see it from the background. Xpeng Motors stipulates that salespeople cannot grab orders between themselves, but this cannot bind authorized dealers.
A direct sales staff told Red Star Capital Bureau: "Authorized stores will invite customers to change the place of purchase on the grounds of greater welfare. Someone just paid the deposit when they received a call from the dealer. "Xpeng Motors refunds the deposit for 3 days without reason, which makes it more burdenless for consumers to switch stores.
Red Star Capital Bureau learned that some Xpeng direct sales staff will record the customer's contact information as: mobile phone number number + "troublesome authorized students don't call anymore" + mobile phone tail number.
A direct sales staff said bluntly: "We are more resistant to distributors, and we must also guard against colleagues while facing external competition." ”
The sales staff of the franchised store did not answer the question of order grabbing positively, but only emphasized that "we are also a directly operated store, and the products and services that consumers buy are the same." ”
But this internal friction has reduced consumers' evaluation of Xpeng Motors.
After receiving repeated "dissuasion" calls, some consumers felt harassed. In order to benefit consumers who switch stores, it increases the additional burden of price comparison, cancellation, and re-ordering, and there is also the risk that the original store will not refund the deposit. Repeatedly amending or re-signing the contract may also result in a reduction in the promised benefits.
After learning that the charging pile was a point exchange, Mr. Li told Red Star Capital Bureau, "This incident has affected my senses for Xpeng Motors. ”
Red Star News reporter Wu Danruo
Edited by Yu Dongmei