What you need to know
Volume sales for the Chinese new passenger car market were in decline for the second consecutive year in 2019 and the impact of COVID-19 worsened sales further in the first quarter of 2020. There had already been signs of increasing car marketing and retailing activities to online platforms before the onset of COVID-19, however the resultant market turmoil caused by lockdowns has sped up the digital transformation of automotive retailing landscape.
As more channels to car buying become available, traditional dealerships can overcome these challenges to their competitiveness by strengthening their expertise and customised services. Online retailing, ranging from car brand direct sale websites to car e-commerce platforms, will be increasingly accepted if they better meet consumer expectations. Mintel predicts that the car retailing landscape in China will become increasingly fragmented and evolve into different business models.
Key issues covered in this Report
The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour and the car retailing market
How the market will reshape post-COVID-19
Consumers’ major initial car price consulting channels online and offline
Consumers’ acceptance of online car purchasing and preferences towards different platforms
How offline channels could do better to retain consumers against the growing threat of online
Covered in this Report
Car retailing is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to sell their automotive vehicles.
Apart from traditional car retailing, this Report also includes other new forms of online car retailing channels, such as:
Car brands’ direct sale websites like Tesla and Nio
Car brands’ official websites with offline dealers’ information like Volkswagen
Comprehensive e-commerce platforms like Taobao and Jingdong
Specialised car e-commerce platforms like Tangeche
In this Report, the market size of car retailing is defined by the sales volume of vehicles and not by sales value.
