the rise of new energy vehicles has led to huge changes in the aftermarket, and tmall auto aims to become alibaba's next trillion-level category
2024-09-24
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"during this year's double eleven, it is estimated that more than 100 million consumers will come to taobao tmall's automobile category to consume. after 3 to 5 years, tmall auto is expected to become another category of alibaba with a gmv (gross merchandise volume) exceeding one trillion yuan after apparel, fast-moving consumer goods, home furnishings and home appliances," said wu feng, general manager of taotian group's automobile business unit and president of tmall auto maintenance.
at the tmall auto and tmall auto care full industry ecosystem summit, tmall auto announced its dual-brand model for the first time: tmall auto creates an online full-scenario consumption network, while tmall auto care focuses on building an offline and full-ecological service network, realizing a business model in which online b2c and offline o2o go hand in hand, providing users with a one-stop travel consumption experience of "see, buy, use, maintain, and replace".
with the rise of new energy vehicles and smart car consumption, chinese users' car purchasing standards have changed greatly. this change not only affects vehicle manufacturers, but also has begun to see tremendous changes in after-market repairs and maintenance, and consumption of automotive derivatives.
"to give a simple example, the annual sales growth rate of car rice cookers this year is 1,400%, a 14-fold growth rate." wu feng told reporters that when the carrier of the entire vehicle changes, for example, when it develops from a fuel vehicle to a new energy vehicle, then the automotive supplies and after-market services that come with the vehicle, as well as the car maintenance services will all change.
roland berger's report shows that compared with the overall population, the consumption of new energy vehicle owners is more obviously concentrated in the three major areas of leisure and entertainment, outdoor travel and cutting-edge digital products; taking camping as an example, the tgi difference between new energy vehicle consumers and the overall market in the "outdoor chairs and stools" category is as high as 348.54 (tgi index exceeding 100 means that a certain type of customer has a more corresponding tendency or preference, and the larger the value, the stronger the tendency and preference); in addition, the consumption of new energy vehicle owners in the smart watch and bracelet category is compared with the full platform customer base, the tgi difference is as high as 442.19.
in addition to the sales of automotive supplies, the information and consumption habits retained by online car users have also begun to assist automakers in product definition and research and development. online shopping platforms such as tmall auto and jd auto have also become new touchpoints between automakers and users.
"tmall auto previously conducted a study that concluded that female users' overall purchase intention for new energy vehicles is significantly higher than that of male users. the reason is that more than 60% of new energy vehicle orders on tmall now come from female users, which is completely different from fuel vehicles. for girls, new energy vehicles are like a 'large mobile phone.' under the logic of the 'large mobile phone,' female users want good looks, good looks, and fine decoration." wu feng said that tmall auto has currently cooperated with more than 30 car companies to help them conduct research on user needs.
in addition to the change in sales of peripheral products, the rise of new energy vehicles and smart cars will further promote major changes in sales and after-sales business formats.
at present, domestic automobile sales are mainly based on two modes: dealers and direct sales. some automobile companies are planning to develop an agency model. however, a few years ago, many automobile companies had set up online showrooms and online stores with the intention of transferring cars online, but related attempts were not successful.
wu feng told reporters that in the era of fuel-powered cars, car sales were mainly wholesale sales by dealers, prices were opaque, and online sales did not have an advantage; but in the era of new energy vehicles, the direct sales model has emerged, and manufacturers have stronger control over product prices, which has brought benefits to online car sales.
"the direct sales model is rapidly and efficiently promoting nationwide price unification, configuration unification, and store service standardization, including commodity, configuration, and service standardization, which is very beneficial to online development. therefore, the demand for online purchases of new energy vehicles has grown rapidly this year." wu feng said that tmall auto will also enter the offline car sales link, relying on tmall's brand power and data capabilities to seize the market share of new energy vehicle users' car purchases.
in addition to the tmall auto brand, tmall auto care has also become an important part of the tmall auto dual brand. like tmall auto, tmall auto care is also in a trillion-yuan track.
data shows that as early as 2021, the scale of china's automotive aftermarket industry exceeded 1.3 trillion yuan, and the growth rate has increased rapidly for two consecutive years. it is expected that the scale of the automotive aftermarket will reach 1.7 trillion yuan by 2025, with an annual compound growth rate of 10%. at present, many internet companies including bytedance and jd.com have already laid out the automotive aftermarket track.
different from the internet e-commerce field, many services in the process of car maintenance require the participation of professional auto repair personnel, which is also one of the challenges faced by internet companies in the cross-border automotive aftermarket. especially with the rise of new energy vehicles, the high technical threshold and the current oems' product maintenance authority are considered to be the main challenges for aftermarket operators.
data from western securities shows that, under the condition of the same age of vehicles, the annual regular maintenance and repair service expenses of plug-in hybrid and extended-range vehicles are 95% of those of fuel vehicles; the annual regular maintenance and repair service expenses of pure electric vehicles are 70% of those of fuel vehicles.
li yi, general manager of tmall auto maintenance, told reporters that the current rise of new energy vehicle consumption is still short, and most users are still within the warranty period; new energy vehicle users have a higher demand for light modifications such as film pasting and color changing, which will be a major profit point for aftermarket operators.
in addition, although car companies currently have strong control over the maintenance of core components of new energy vehicles, li yi believes that from a business model perspective, car companies will not bear the responsibility of the after-sales system alone in the future.
"in the next ten years or so, car companies may not fully liberalize authorized or third-party repairs like they do for fuel vehicles, because fuel vehicles have smaller safety risks, while new energy vehicles have greater safety risks, including sensors, autonomous driving, batteries, and so on." li yi said that in the long run, in the sinking market, car companies must authorize more service providers; in first- and second-tier cities, luxury brands will mainly rely on direct sales or strongly controlled after-sales channels, while non-luxury brands will mainly liberalize authorization or third parties.
(this article comes from china business network)
