Chinese buyers head to the car supermarket
August 21, 2017 Category Automotive, Weekly
Chinese car buyers used to visiting traditional car dealers, now have a new venue to include on their shopping itinerary – the car supermarket. The new format allows buyers to look at a large array of cars in one place and compare specifications and prices. Suning was among the first to jump on the “one-stop shop” bandwagon when it opened a car supermarket in Nanjing last month. The market displays both domestic and foreign models, including Maserati, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. It also provides a car leasing service, auto parts and after-sales maintenance. “For consumers, this is a way to save time, get to know more brands, and make decisions after careful comparisons,” said Liu Donghao, Manager of Suning’s Automotive Business Section. “We aim to break the mold of single-brand dealerships.” In the next three to five years, the company said it expects to open more than 100 car supermarkets in China. Gome Electric Appliances, a major rival of Suning, said it plans to add car sales areas in most of its 1,700 stores in China. “Gome has the advantages of a large number of stores in China,” said Zhang Haifeng, Manager of Gome’s car business. “Our stores are located in downtown areas, and that’s a strength in the automotive business.” However, car supermarkets are facing fierce competition from traditional car dealers and encountering some wariness by consumers. So far, foot traffic in the new supermarkets has been fairly light. Most of the car brands are luxury brands, but customers want to see all kinds of brands and models in different price ranges, one prospective buyer said. “Mainstream car manufacturers have spent a huge amount of time and money working with traditional car dealers. They are unlikely to abandon those ties to work closely with car supermarkets,” Luo Lei, Deputy Secretary General of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said.
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