Standing in the magnificent history of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, looking back at the development of the automobile industry, the road has been difficult and ups and downs, and has achieved a miracle from the poor and the white to the world’s attention. The wisdom and power of the market.

       Due to historical reasons, the production of passenger cars in my country started late, and the history of sales of automobiles as commodities is even shorter. However, in this short period of more than two decades, my country has achieved an incredible rise in the speed of cars entering the family, the growth of the car market, the formation of an automobile society, and the enrichment of automobile culture, which has completed nearly half of the developed automobile industry. A century of promotion. At the same time, with the loosening of policies, the market's decisive role in resource allocation has become more apparent, which in turn promotes accelerated iteration of passenger car sales models, continuous optimization of the sales and service system, and a pattern of blossoming flowers.

End the era of production but no sales

       At the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the revitalization of the national industry and the construction of a prosperous new China became the top priority of the country. As a representative of the national industry, automobiles were naturally included in the key projects. In 1953, the No. 1 Automobile Manufacturing Plant, which was built by the nation's efforts, broke ground in Changchun, Jilin Province, thus opening up the arduous history of my country's automobile industry. On July 14, three years later, 12 Jiefang trucks slowly drove out of the First Automobile Manufacturing Plant, ending the history of China’s failure to build cars. This year, Chairman Mao's expression of "When will I be able to sit on a car produced by myself" at a meeting, sounded the clarion call for the production of passenger cars in my country.

       Since then, with the assistance of the former Soviet Union and the arduous struggle of the older generation of autobots in our country, the Hongqi inspection car, Shanghai brand sedan, Beijing Jeep and other models have been rolled off the assembly line one after another, and they have assumed important roles for a long time. However, although my country's automobile industry has achieved breakthroughs in vehicle models and technology, due to the implementation of the planned economy in my country at that time, the automobile industry did not have commodity attributes, and sales were impossible to talk about. It was under the government's mandate for a long time. Under the management of the plan, almost all of the limited passenger cars produced are supplied to the army, government and related departments to serve the construction of the national economy.

       Until the end of the 1970s, the state appropriately liberalized policies to support a small number of people to get rich first, so a number of individual industrial and commercial households appeared. With their pockets growing, they generated consumer demand. In addition to purchasing a full set of household appliances, they also looked at Aiming at the car that has made ordinary people feel unattainable for many years.

       With the sprouting of automobile consumer demand, assembled cars assembled with imported parts and components from abroad appeared in the southeast coast, but they could not fully meet the demand, and some people took a fancy to official cars. At that time, the Shanghai brand car SH760 (commonly known as "Old Shanghai") produced by Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Plant had always been used as a car for leading cadres, so it became a status symbol. Some self-employed individuals who dared to do it carried cash and went straight to Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing. Factory, request to buy a car. To this end, the Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Plant also specifically discussed the pricing of Shanghai brand cars, and the initial price was set at 25,000 yuan. In this way, driven by demand, my country's passenger car sales staggered with a direct sales model.

Car from product to commodity

       In 1978, the Central Committee held the epoch-making Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, and our country embarked on a road centered on economic construction. Bathed in the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the automotive industry has received unprecedented attention and opened a new chapter. After visiting the world's major automakers, the state leaders decided to adopt a "sino-foreign joint venture" program to develop the auto industry and reverse my country's industrial structure of "lack of weight and light, car blank". The establishment and deregulation of automobile sales are also on the agenda together with the Sino-foreign joint venture operation.

       Under the planned economy system, the annual production and distribution of automobile enterprises are included in the national mandatory plan, and the arrangements are unified. Orders must be placed at the national automobile ordering meeting, and the planning authorities of the provinces and cities will follow the automobile distribution orders issued by the state. , Sign a contract with the manufacturer.

       In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of automobile manufacturers, since 1983, the state has listed in the annual production plan that 10% of the share will be self-sold by enterprises. After that, the proportion of self-sold will be increased year by year, and automobile products have begun to enter the market. Some auto companies that have obtained the right to produce and sell themselves have begun to establish direct sales outlets, such as the FAW Trading Corporation and Dongfeng Motor Trading Corporation. Subsequently, some auto manufacturers and the auto trade company in the material system tested the water industry and trade consortium, and a number of joint ventures emerged. At this stage, automobiles gradually changed from products to commodities.

       In 1984, the State Council issued the "Regulations on the Purchase of Motor Vehicles, Ships and Tractors by Individual Farmers or Joint Households to Operate the Transportation Industry", which for the first time clarified the legality of private automobile purchases from a policy perspective. my country's automobile consumption began to shift from a single demand for official vehicles to diversified Consumption. In order to adapt to the characteristics of this market, my country has switched from a strict planning management system to a dual-track system, that is, vehicles planned to be allocated are subject to national pricing and vehicles placed on the market are subject to a market-adjusted price system. The government has begun to cultivate and establish a market price system.

       In order to further control the sales channels, the electromechanical trading companies established by the material departments of the state and the automobile industry trading companies established by the China Automobile Industry Sales Service Company may engage in automobile sales and organize trading activities. At that time, due to the small number of products on the market and the limited production capacity of various car companies, there was no competition between the two channels, and the sales staff did not need marketing. They just sold the cars while sitting in the office and making calls.

       With the increase in the production capacity of domestic auto companies and the increase in auto imports, the purchasing power within the planned system is relatively insufficient. Some slow-moving models have created a backlog of inventory. Some auto trading companies try to publish car advertisements in newspapers, and hold trade fairs and expositions. , Which further stimulated the generation of personal consumption demand and the formation of the automobile market. But at this time, the car sales model is only a direct sales method, and sales and service are separated.

The tangible market leads the trend

       In 1994, the State Council promulgated my country’s first automobile industry policy "Auto Industry Policy" to encourage automobile consumption and allow private ownership of automobiles from dreams into reality. With the liberalization of policies, the private economy has entered the field of automobile sales, and automobile commodity circulation has gradually developed from a relatively single channel to a situation where multiple channels and multiple competition coexist. For a while, under the bridge in the big city, on the side of the road, on the abandoned construction site... you can always see cars and car watchers onlookers.

       How to allow merchants engaged in car sales to have a fixed place of business is included in the city planning by the government. On the basis of drawing on foreign experience and combining the characteristics of China, tangible markets such as the Shanghai United Automobile Exchange Market and the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange Market began to take the stage of history, and promoted the process of privatization of automobile sales, and the automobile distribution industry is still the most popular. Among the dealer groups, there are many stalls that started in the tangible market.

       Among the tangible automobile markets that have emerged in various places, the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Trading Market opened in 1995, with its rich models, brand-new car purchase experience, advanced planning concepts and service positioning that meets market needs, once became a car radiating North China The sales center and the template of the national automobile tangible market subtly guide changes in automobile sales models, car buying habits and preferences.

       After experiencing the glory of the initial stage, the emergence of 4S stores has made the tangible market face severe challenges. At that time, there was a view in the industry that the 4S store model would end the tangible market. In 2005, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce promulgated and implemented the "Measures for the Implementation of Automobile Brand Sales Management", which established the absolute position of the brand authorized sales model in the industry, and at the same time pushed the industry's doubts about the future of the tangible market to a climax. However, after market testing, the multi-category, reciprocity, and one-stop advantages of the tangible automobile market make it difficult to be replaced. Moreover, the breadth and depth of the Chinese market cannot be underestimated. In order to meet the needs of different consumers, multiple sales formats must coexist to make the market more active.

       In recent years, the tangible automobile market has embarked on a distinctive development path in terms of cross-border integration, model innovation, and expansion of function extensions. As an inclusive platform, the combination of the tangible automobile market and modern business is a new type of comprehensive automobile themed market; when combined with the Internet, it is an offline automobile transaction service point; cooperation with finance is a financial supervision service platform; and automobile brand manufacturers Cooperation is the center of brand display, transaction and service.

4S stores are the mainstay of the circulation system

       In 1994, Li Lanqing, the then Vice Premier of the State Council, led the heads of the Ministry of Metallurgy and Machinery to Japan and South Korea to investigate commercial circulation models. After returning to China, he proposed the idea of piloting the agency system in automobile and steel sales. At that time, under the joint promotion of the former State Economic and Trade Commission, the former Ministry of Domestic Trade and the former Ministry of Machinery, five manufacturing companies including FAW, Second Automobile (Dongfeng Motor), SAIC, Tianqi and Yuejin Motors and 79 material companies were the first batch of pilot projects. Began to implement the automobile agency system. Different from the previous direct and joint operation models, the agency system no longer centers on manufacturers but on brands, and has become the embryonic form of 4S stores.

       Five years later, Guangqi Honda borrowed from Honda's marketing model, carried forward the agency system, and introduced a 4S store sales model with the brand as the core, integrating sales, after-sales service, parts supply, and information feedback. In the market environment at that time, the 4S store’s spacious and bright sales showroom, homely service attitude, professional and convenient brand specialization service and timely supply of original accessories gave consumers a sense of dignity that consumers have never felt before, and a sense of trust. The spontaneous emergence has attracted major auto companies to follow suit. In the early days of the formation of my country's automobile society, 4S stores, with their unique advantages, played an important role in popularizing automobile culture and boosting the growth of private car purchases.

       In 2005, the promulgation and implementation of the "Measures for the Implementation of Automobile Brand Sales Management" established the automobile sales network in my country with 4S shops as the main body from the policy. Up to now, the number of 4S stores in my country has reached 28,000, which is second to none in the world. In the following two decades, the standardized 4S store model standardized the market order, cultivated consumers’ brand awareness and consumption habits, cultivated a regular army of auto sales services, and became the absolute mainstream auto sales model in my country. With the help of 4S The store has built a relatively complete new car circulation system.

       However, since the launch of 4S stores in my country, the industry has never stopped controversy over this sales model. Among them, the most questioned are the huge investment, single brand management, waste of resources such as land, and excessive standardization inhibiting innovation. , And cannot adapt to the needs of markets at all levels. In addition, the brand authorization system stipulated in the "Measures for the Implementation of Automobile Brand Sales Management" gives manufacturers absolute dominance. Dealers do not have much right to speak regardless of the types of goods purchased, the amount of inventory, sales policies, and market activities. This kind of unbalanced relationship between manufacturers is safe in the era of high growth, and once the market growth rate slows, the hidden contradictions will be exposed, intensifying the contradictions between manufacturers.

       Since 2013, my country’s auto market has shifted gears and slowed down. The profit model of 4S stores that rely on new car sales for a long time has been severely challenged. Dealers withdraw from the Internet and hold groups to defend their rights are common. At the same time, consumers are more concerned about minor illnesses in 4S stores. Complaints about fees and low maintenance efficiency are rampant. The industry began to reflect on the circulation system based on the 4S store model. As my country's auto companies generally implement the "quarterly + semi-annual + annual" superimposed assessment rebate policy, the excess supply between their sales targets and market demand is transferred to dealers' inventory, resulting in high inventory of dealers and forced to exchange price for volume In order to digest the inventory, the dealers' purchase and sales prices continued to fall, and the gross profit of new car sales was ruthlessly swallowed by high inventory. At the same time, the contradiction between the channel outlets set up by car companies according to the production scale and the relatively saturated market demand is also increasing day by day, leading to vicious competition in 4S stores in the same city, making consumers price-oriented when buying cars, weakening dealers’ optimization of services and business innovation Power.

       Obviously, my country's automobile sales system based on the 4S store model can no longer adapt to the rapid development of the automobile market and the growth of consumer demand. It is hoped that the "Implementation Measures for Automobile Brand Sales Management" will be adjusted to break the brand authorization model, untie dealers, and encourage sales. The voice of the diversified development of business formats is getting stronger.

       Although 4S stores are full of problems, and forces threatening to subvert them have emerged in recent years, the facts have proved that it is not easy to change the consumption habits cultivated over the years to completely break the sales system based on this over the years, and with the Internet, cross-border With the entry of power, 4S stores are also evolving themselves in accordance with market demand, making innovative attempts in financial leasing, chain quick repair, shared travel, and electric pile operation.

Four automobile modernizations give birth to "new retail" blooming

       After two decades of development, my country's automobile society has gradually entered a consumer-centric era from the product era. Around 2015, the growth of the auto market further slowed down. Driven by capital, a wave of Internet entrepreneurship flooded into the auto dealership industry, and e-commerce began to intervene in auto sales. These intrusive "barbarians" dismantled the business model of 4S stores. De-restructuring has shaken the solid position of the authorized dealer network to a certain extent. Although the policy has not yet been liberalized, the consumer-centric innovative attitude of the non-authorized auto sales service network has attracted great attention from the industry and the market. This type of enterprise is following the path of innovation, and its business model is constantly iterating, not only successfully landing in the primary and secondary markets, but also blooming everywhere in places hard to reach by 4S stores, which has played a role in extending and supporting the existing car sales system.

       In 2017, the "Auto Sales Management Measures", which the industry has called for for many years, replaced the 12-year implementation of the "Automobile Brand Sales Management Implementation Measures" and became the number one policy in my country's automobile distribution industry, breaking the brand authorization and 4S shop dominance. Sales system. At this time, the “four modernizations” of automobiles represented by electrification, intelligence, connectivity, and sharing have swept across. The Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies are driving the disruptive innovation of the entire automobile industry. Traditional automakers that have shifted back in the value chain, new automakers that turned out to be transforming the industry, as well as traditional retailers and Internet giants holding high the banner of "new retail" have entered the auto distribution industry in an attempt to reshape auto sales Service formats and value chains, auto supermarkets, O2O e-commerce, unmanned car sales, brand experience centers and other new car sales models have emerged one after another, and the iteration of car sales models has further accelerated.

At the 2016 Yunqi Conference, Alibaba founder Jack Ma once said that traditional e-commerce will be eliminated in the future and replaced by new retail models based on technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things. And this kind of new retail that relies on Internet genes and integrates online advantages and offline resources is continuing to ferment in the automobile distribution industry. In the evolution of this round of sales models, the once neglected user experience has become a touchstone for whether the new sales model can gain a foothold. In the context of cross-border integration, the boundaries of automobile sales services have been continuously expanded, and the platformization and ecologicalization of sales models have gradually become industry trends, which have forced the reconstruction of the automobile industry chain.

        What kind of picture will the future car sales model present? Driven by the two-wheeled drive of market and technology, the imagination of the industry is constantly being redefined.