This newspaper (chinatimesnet.CN) reporters Liu Kai and Yu Jianping report from Beijing.
Recently, a reporter from the "China Times" visited a second-hand car store, perhaps because of the weekend, there were many people in the store who came to see the car. However, Lao Wang, the sales manager of the store, did not show excitement, but was a little depressed. After seeing the reporter, he hurriedly put down the ** who asked about the order and sat down.
It's the end of the year, and I want to hurry up and get back the money, so I'm a little busy. Lao Wang said. When asked by reporters about the recent passenger flow, Lao Wang replied: "It may be the relationship at the end of the year, the recent passenger flow is a little more, although it is less than in previous years, but it has been satisfied." ”
There are many car dealers who have the same mentality as Lao Wang, and they don't want to make a lot of money, but only want the speed of capital return to be faster. All this is due to the fact that in 2023, the new car market will start a "** war", resulting in the price of new cars ** once approaching the price of quasi-new cars, which seriously squeezes the market for used cars. However, driven by the policy, the used car market withstood the pressure, and the annual transaction volume hit a record high. According to the data, the cumulative number of second-hand car transactions in 2023 will be 1841330,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1488%, an increase of 238 over the previous year50,000 vehicles, with a cumulative transaction value of 11,7953.2 billion yuan.
2023: Messed up the rhythm and began to "hibernate".
The current market situation is actually very simple, the price of the new car will be lowered, and we will follow the price of the car, and you can't help but collect the car, in case someone wants to buy it but you don't, then the business will not be good in the future. Lao Wang said that the biggest impact is the quasi-new car, and some cars of about 50,000 yuan fluctuate very little. "* Unstable, profits will be thinner, but as long as the funds can be returned, it is acceptable. ”
As Lao Wang said, the price reduction of the new car market in 2023 has disrupted the rhythm of second-hand car transactions. Most used car dealers have had the experience of dropping a new car as soon as they received it. This also makes car dealers no longer collect cars in batches, and some car dealers even start a consignment business, car owners who want to sell cars can put their cars in the second-hand car field, and the car dealers will sell them, and if they are successfully sold, they will charge a certain percentage of commissions. "This method has actually been used before, but it will be more in 23 years, after all, we don't have to stock up on cars, and our risk is much smaller. Lao Wang said.
In addition to Lao Wang, many car dealers in the second-hand car market said that the "** war" of new cars made them timid. "Now the embarrassment is that I don't dare to hoard cars, and if I haven't sold a car for a long time, I will also reduce the price. Mr. Su, a second-hand car dealer, said.
During the interview, the car dealers complained about the instability. This also made the second-hand car market last year show a scene of not being prosperous in the peak season and even weaker in the off-season. Some car dealers failed to sell a single car during the National Day holiday and New Year's Day holiday. In order to return the funds in time, the vehicle can only be sold at a loss.
Wang Kun, an auto analyst, told the China Times: "In the past, the second-hand car market will also fluctuate, but when the company's products are new, the old models will clean up the inventory, and some second-hand cars will also reduce the price, but in 2023, almost all car companies will clean up the inventory, squeezing the profits of second-hand car dealers." ”
In the face of market pressure, most second-hand car dealers are selling vehicles by shooting short ** and doing live broadcasts. Wang said that they have also cooperated with some anchors to promote the vehicles in the venue. "There are too many peers doing live broadcasts in 2023, and if you want to be brilliant, you have to find some top bloggers to make jokes, which can be regarded as an operating expense. ”
However, in the eyes of the industry, the price reduction of new cars is not all negative effects. Wang Kun said that in the short term, the price reduction of new cars has indeed brought pressure to second-hand car dealers, but for the industry to develop, it is inevitable to experience a reshuffle, and it is also a process of big waves. Some cars will collapse or be merged, but many more will grow.
2024: Plugging points are broken through and revitalized
In 2024, the car war continues. According to the research report released by Capital **, battery-grade lithium carbonate is still in the first place, which greatly reduces the cost pressure of new energy vehicles. "We believe that the new energy vehicle market is the first to continue, and the auto market in 2024 is likely to continue the battle in 2023, the industry will accelerate the clearance, and the market position of car companies with strong independent brands and leading new energy vehicle development is expected to be further improved. ”
So, in this context, how should used car dealers deal with the pressure brought about by the price reduction of new cars? In Wang Kun's view, second-hand car dealers now have to grasp traffic, do services, and even unite to expand the source of cars, so that customers can get what cars they need. At the same time, it is also necessary to do more refined operations to further reduce costs and increase efficiency.
At the same time, some second-hand car dealers have also begun to do overseas export business. According to the data, from 2019 to 2022, domestic second-hand car exports were 3,036, 4,322, and 150,000 units and 70,000 units, showing a rapid growth trend. Huatai's research report, considering that there is a large arbitrage space for second-hand car exports and there is still a supply gap in Russia and the "Belt and Road" countries, China's second-hand car exports may exceed 100,000 units in 2023. Liao Zhiyong, assistant to the chairman of Guangdong Good Car Holdings, predicts that in the next 3-5 years, China's second-hand car exports will exceed 500,000 units, and the market prospect is worth paying attention to.
In addition, new energy second-hand cars are also a point of the current layout of car dealers. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first 11 months of 2023, 67 new energy used cars were traded60,000 units, an increase of 35 compared to the same period in 20228%。It is worth mentioning that the penetration rate of new energy used cars has also increased from 3 at the beginning of 20238%** to 52%。
Li Xin, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that the current new energy second-hand cars are still in the early stage of market development, the scale is not large, the model categories are not rich enough, and the fluctuations are large, but in the long run, the upside and market prospects of new energy second-hand cars are very considerable.
In addition to increasing the layout, the reporter noticed that the current policies on second-hand cars have also been frequently launched and gradually implemented, especially the implementation of policies such as "lifting restrictions and relocation" and "building a unified national market", which has made second-hand car transactions more active. Taking the car auction every day as an example, the second-hand car transactions on the platform have reached 70%, which also means that the barriers to the circulation of second-hand cars in the country are being broken.
At the same time, in July 2023, 13 departments including the state issued the "Several Measures to Promote Automobile Consumption" to encourage the improvement of the transparency of second-hand car transaction information and improve the credit system. This has also made car dealers begin to pay attention to service, create a more comfortable car buying environment for consumers, and improve after-sales service.
On January 26 this year, the ** Information Office held a press conference on seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and making new breakthroughs in promoting high-quality business development. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, introduced at the meeting that this year, the Ministry of Commerce will promote the trade-in of automobiles and home appliances. We will strengthen support and guidance to improve technology, energy consumption, emissions and other standards as the traction, promote the opening of the difficulties of trade-in, stabilize and expand traditional consumption, and better meet the needs of consumer goods replacement and upgrading, all of which will be promoted on the basis of respecting consumers' voluntariness.
With the policy boost, some second-hand cars will also flow into the market, driving the circulation of the entire market. At the same time, driven by the policy, the second-hand car market will be more standardized and more transparent. This is also beneficial for the future development of used cars. Lao Wang said.
It is foreseeable that under the policy support and the transformation and upgrading of car dealers, the second-hand car market will also be more mature, there will be fewer and fewer vehicle problems, and consumer acceptance will be higher. "With the implementation of the second-hand car industry policy, the industry reshuffle will also be further accelerated. Some businesses that operate in dishonesty and sell illegal vehicles will also be eliminated, which is also a reflection of the rebirth of the second-hand car market. Wang Kun said.
Editor-in-charge: Li Yanan Editor-in-chief: Yu Jianping.