On April 27, 2022 blue book forum of automobile circulation industry and 20212022 blue book press conference were held in the form of online live broadcast. The report on the development of China's automobile industry (hereinafter referred to as 20212022) was officially released on the live broadcast of the conference. According to statistics, the total number of passenger car dealers in 2021 was 29318, with a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. Strong growth of independent brand network.
Four major trends in the development of dealer channel network in 2021: the co network and sub network of manufacturers' new energy sales channels coexist; The dealer group will increase the layout of luxury brands and new energy; The new and old forces explore channel changes and the boundary between modes is blurred; The service channels of new energy vehicles are being reshaped.
According to the channel network statistics of 98 passenger car brands from 25 super luxury and luxury brands, 19 joint venture brands and 54 independent brands by China Automobile Circulation Association, the number of passenger car 4S sales and service networks in China at the end of 2021 was 29318 (Note: refers to the number of 4S stores), a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. In 2021, the explosive growth of new energy vehicles and the strong rise of independent brands have driven the expansion of channel network. Byd Company Limited(002594) , Chang'an, Chery, Xiaopeng and Nezha have made important contributions to the growth of channel network.
In 2021, about 1400 4S sales and service networks withdrew from the network, of which 57% were joint venture brands, mainly Beijing Hyundai, Buick, Dongfeng Peugeot, guangfeike, Skoda, and some dealers withdrew from the network after the grid connection adjustment of Chang'an Mazda and FAW Mazda.
From the perspective of brand, the network of independent brands is growing strongly, and the average number of single brand 4S networks of traditional energy and new energy is quite different. In 2021, with the support of the growth of new energy vehicle market, independent brands became the main force of network growth, accounting for an increase of 2.4 percentage points over the previous year. Joint venture brands were squeezed, and the proportion of Internet decreased by 2.4 percentage points. The luxury brand network remains relatively stable. Among independent brands, new energy channel network forms are diversified, so there is a large difference in the average number of 4S networks of a single brand between traditional channels and new energy independent channels.
It is worth noting that there are about 1000 brands with annual sales of more than one million, including North South Volkswagen, Wuling, great wall, Geely, etc. From the perspective of distribution, the number of networks in eastern provinces is large, and the network growth rate in western provinces is high. The proportion of county 4S network has exceeded 15%. In 2021, the distribution of automobile channel network still shows the characteristics of sparse East Mississippi. The network growth rate of most provinces and cities is positive, and the network growth rate of inland provinces, especially northwest provinces, is higher.
At present, there are nearly 5000 4S networks in counties (excluding urban areas), accounting for more than 15%. There are more than 500 County 4S networks in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces.
The rapid development of the new energy vehicle market has driven the rapid expansion of the new energy vehicle channel network, and gradually formed three types of networks with different functions: 4S sellers, exhibition hall / experience center and after-sales service center. In 2021, the number of outlets in the new energy vehicle channel exceeded 6000, including more than 5000 independent sales experience stores (including 4S forms). Most of the after-sales service centers share the after-sales workshop with traditional fuel vehicles.
In 2021, new energy supermarkets located in shopping malls / shopping centers developed rapidly, reaching more than 2200. Nearly 70% of supermarkets are concentrated in 20 cities, including more than 100 new energy supermarkets in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing.
From the development trend of dealer channel network, the co network and sub network of manufacturers' new energy sales channels coexist. With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, manufacturers have also increased investment in the construction of new energy channels, and selected common network or sub network based on their own situation.
At present, luxury brands mainly adopt the mode of grid connection, and most of the new energy high terminal brands launched by independent brands adopt the mode of grid separation. Among the joint venture brands, the North-South Volkswagen ID series, on the one hand, share the network sales in the original channels, on the other hand, encourage the agents to establish ID supermarkets in the business center; GAC Honda released a new electric vehicle channel e: NP Whether it is distributed or shared, they will face their own challenges in the future. The key is to ensure the professionalism of new energy related services and balance the interests of existing channel networks.
Luxury brands have performed well driven by the trend of consumption upgrading. Therefore, small and medium-sized groups and single stores of luxury brands have also become the main targets of recent channel mergers and acquisitions. The rapid development of new energy vehicles has also brought new opportunities for dealer groups. Dealer groups have arranged the new energy vehicle industry one after another.
At present, various brands are constantly exploring channel reform, and the actual channel model of both new forces and traditional manufacturers shows some fuzzy areas. Weilai, one of the new forces, adopts the mode of direct operation plus agency, and Xiaopeng adopts the mode of direct operation plus agency; Traditional manufacturers start with a certain model to test more models.
In the early stage, the new energy after-sales channels represented by the new power of car making mostly adopted the way of self support of electromechanical business and authorization of sheet metal and paint business to independent after-sales comprehensive repair plants. With the continuous improvement of ownership, the new power brand began to lay out direct sheet metal and paint centers. With the further improvement of the number of new energy vehicles, the new energy brand has built its own service center, integrated sheet metal, vehicle delivery and other service functions, and the original "specialized and refined" multi format network form is partially replaced by the 4S format integrating sales and service.
