In 2018, the sales volume of the Chinese auto market showed its first negative growth in 28 years, but by the end of June 2019, the number of domestic autos had reached 250 million.
The new car market is hard to make a glory in the past, and the battle for the aftermarket has just begun. Although the new car used cars is not easy to sell, as long as there are cars on the road, maintenance and repair are always indispensable.
4S shop service is good but the price is high. Although the individual auto repair shop is cheap but the quality and service cannot be guaranteed, this is when consumers choose vehicle repair and maintenance. The dilemma faced.
Take the BMW 3 Series as an example. The 4S shop replaces the oil and the three filters are about 2500-3000 yuan. The same service may not be 1000 yuan in the unknown auto repair shop on the roadside, but the replacement parts are not the original. Factory brand, and the price is not as transparent as 4S shop. Another problem that may be a headache for consumers is that the service of the auto repair shop cannot be evaluated before use, and there may be a shoddy situation.
Obviously, there is a chain brand market space between the 4S shop and the auto repair shop. The owners are willing to pay more than the auto repair shop, but they can get products and services close to the 4S shop. According to the “2019 China Automotive User Online Maintenance Report”, from 2015 to 2018, the scale of China’s automotive aftermarket industry increased from 760 billion yuan to 1.29 billion yuan.
This also makes the O2O service in the aftermarket of the car always on the hot track, such as the way to the tiger, the car to enjoy the home, the car to the car, etc., the first to cut into the market from tires, oil, car beauty, etc., mainly in the first-tier cities.
In recent days, the contact car has chosen cutting in the direction of vehicle repair and maintenance, and covering the second-tier city car through the mode of “professional technician team + direct chain store + self-built repair center” market. Since its establishment in 2018 to September this year, there are 29 direct-operated stores in Chengdu, including 4 maintenance centers with an area of more than 1,000 square meters and the rest of the community stores of about 300 square meters.
The founder of the car, Tom Hou (De Chinese) has more than 10 years of venture capital experience. He was the co-founder of EMH Partners (700 million euro venture capital fund) in Germany and led several automotive aftermarkets in Germany. Investment in the project. He told that the average life of domestic vehicles has increased year by year, and is expected to reach 5.9 years by 2020. Although it is still lower than the US 11.4 years and Europe’s 9.7 years, it is already a huge enough market.
Different from the first-tier cities, O2O covers almost all models. The target customers of German cars are mainly the second-tier cities of Germany and European and American car owners. Their user portraits are local aborigines and have more disposable income. More worry-free service, and willing to spend more money for quality services, but not so “devious.”
In Chengdu, for example, the numberIt is reported that the number of motor vehicles in Chengdu reached more than 5.3 million in 2019, accounting for nearly 50% of the total Sichuan province, but Chengdu’s population accounted for only 20%. On the site selection of the store, the German car avoids the most core area of the expensive rented city, which is a factor that its cost can be lower than that of the 4S store. At the same time, it also reduces the risk of traffic jams for customers. The active population of more than 100,000 people within a radius of 1 km is an important reference indicator for site selection. In addition, there are some rigid regulations on the height, weight and pollution of the site.
Compared to the community store, the repair center has a larger area, more equipment, and will carry more car depth maintenance services. Of course, there are more factors in site selection.
In Chengdu, all the stores of the German car are outside the ring. According to the heat map provided by them, 29 direct stores have covered most of the densely populated areas.
With the help of WeChat applets and mobile Internet tools such as APP, the car can also provide customers with 24-hour service, for example, the user can make a 10 pm maintenance appointment in the afternoon. When the user drives the car home at night, there will be maintenance personnel picking up the car. If there is no appointment on the day, the store staff will get off work on time. According to feedback from German cars, such services are well received by female users.
In the supply chain, the car will select the materials and accessories produced by the designated supplier of the car, and the price is about 40% off the 4S shop. In terms of personnel, the German car will recruit experienced technicians and train technicians to minimize the sales price while ensuring product quality.
Tom Hou said that the current average consumption of a single amount (excluding car wash) is about 1497 yuan, with more than 30,000 registered users; the average monthly turnover of Chengdu single store is 350,000 yuan, and the community store is open for 6 months. The company can achieve breakeven balance; the company’s financial position is good, there is a steady and sufficient cash flow, and the accumulated 40 million financing is mainly used for store expansion and recruitment. The investors include source capital, Xinyuan Capital, and DST Global management partner. Wait.
He mentioned in the interview that although it has developed smoothly in Chengdu, the company has encountered some problems in the expansion of neighboring cities. For example, Chengdu has a good supply chain and infrastructure in the auto parts market, such as the international automobile city. This will help the recruitment of professionals and the smooth development of the business, but in other regions, the supplier itself has not yet established a complete logistics and distribution system, which is a big challenge for the German car.
The current car is exploring the markets in other regions with suppliers, such as Kunming. At present, the German car has opened six stores in Kunming.