At the beginning of 2020, a sudden new type of pneumonia epidemic forced most domestic industries to press the "pause button". At the same time, the automotive industry was also "paused". It must be said that for two consecutive years The downturn in the auto market coupled with the impact of the epidemic at the beginning of this year has caused many auto companies to face unprecedented challenges. Fortunately, with the initial results achieved in the nationwide fight against the epidemic, at the end of March, the national epidemic situation has gradually shown an improvement trend, and all sectors of society are returning to normal. In view of this, Qi Paijun is also deeply curious about the recovery of the domestic auto market.
As we all know, the overall performance of Japanese brands in 2019 can be described as very strong. Among them, Toyota’s cumulative sales in China were 1.62 million units, a year-on-year increase of 9%; followed closely by Honda’s cumulative sales in China for the whole year Sales volume was 1.554 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Although Nissan's sales declined slightly, it still achieved a full-year cumulative sales of 1.547 million vehicles. Its overall performance is still very impressive despite the unfavorable environment. Satisfied.
So after experiencing this epidemic, can Japanese car companies maintain last year's strong sales momentum?
As the front line of the auto market, 4S stores can most directly reflect the impact of the epidemic on the auto market. Therefore, in order to further understand the current real situation of Japanese joint venture brands in the market, Qi Pai Jun also conducted a survey in Chengdu Japanese brand 4S stores in the region, led by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, visited the stores to see how their operations and customer flow have performed after the epidemic.
Considering that this store visit involves a large number of 4S stores, Qipaijun will first visit a Dongfeng Nissan brand 4S store in Chengdu as a consumer. At around 10:30 a.m., in the Dongfeng Nissan 4S store where Qi Paijun is located, sales consultants are already receiving customers in an orderly manner. A forehead thermometer and various materials needed for disinfection are placed on the information desk at the entrance. , which can make customers who have recently visited the store to view cars feel at ease.
When we entered the store, we could see about 4-5 groups of customers talking with sales consultants. The flow of people was still a bit beyond Qipaijun’s expectations. After learning that we were here to see the car, the staff immediately arranged The sales consultant will give us a detailed introduction. After some conversation, Qi Pai Jun also learned from the sales consultant that there are still many customers coming to the store to look at cars, and most of them come to inquire about the new Sylphy, new Teana and X-Trail.
Since the new generation of Sylphy was launched in the second half of last year, sales have been showing a significant upward trend. The cumulative sales of the new Sylphy and classic Sylphy in December last year reached 53,626 units, accounting for 10% of Dongfeng Nissan’s sales. With a ratio of 45.54%, it ranks second in compact car sales, second only to the Volkswagen Lavida.
Since the new Sylphy is still in short supply, there is no discount for buying the car in full. If you buy a car with a mortgage, you can enjoy a cash discount of up to about 3,000, but you need to pay an additional 4,000. Yuan handling fee. It is worth mentioning that no matter which car purchase method is adopted, anyone who purchases a Sylphy can enjoy a free maintenance policy of 12 times in 6 years. In other words, according to the average car replacement cycle of about 5-6 years, the later maintenance cost of Sylphy is very low. of.
At the same time, Qipaojun also learned that choosing orange, red and other models requires an additional payment of 2,000 yuan, and there are no cars in the store. It generally takes about half a month to a month to pick up the car.
Compared with the new Sylphy, X-Trail and Teana have greater market discounts in the end market. Among them, X-Trail generally has a discount of about 30,000, while Teana also has a cash discount of about 20,000. Overall The price/performance ratio is quite impressive.
In terms of after-sales maintenance, according to Qipaijun’s observation, Dongfeng Nissan 4S store has started to operate normally at multiple workstations. At the same time, the sales consultant also told us that if it is necessary to go to the store for maintenance within two days on the weekend For maintenance, you must make an appointment with the after-sales staff in advance.
After visiting the Nissan 4S store, Qi Paijun visited the Toyota and Honda 4S stores in the afternoon. Toyota and Honda 4S stores are not fundamentally different from Nissan 4S stores in terms of disinfection and epidemic prevention. Temperature checks and visitor information registration are required to enter the stores. At the same time, the stores are also equipped with complete epidemic prevention materials in case of emergency. I have to say that most Japanese brands still do a good job in humanistic care.
Compared with Nissan 4S stores, Toyota 4S stores are slightly inferior in terms of customer flow. Specifically, a Guangzhou Automobile Toyota 4S store where Qipaijun is located does not have many customers looking at cars. There are 2 groups of customers, and the rest are sales and staff in the store. Of course, the reasons for this situation are relatively easy to understand. Firstly, it was around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, which was not the peak period for customers to view cars; secondly, the new SUV Wilanda that had just been launched had not yet been fully distributed, so Currently, only Weilanda’s graphic and text materials can be seen in the store.
Qi Pai Jun learned from the sales consultant that because production capacity is still in the recovery period, the Wilanda show car will not be available until around April. In addition, if you order a car around April , taking into account the number of car reservations and user schedules, it is expected that new cars will not be mentioned until around August. It is not difficult to see that the user base of Weilanda will be very considerable in the future, so Qipaijun predicts that the terminal price of new cars will not loosen much in the short term. In fact, main-selling models including Camry, Ralink, Highlander and other models do not have obvious terminal discounts, and their prices can be said to be very strong.
In terms of after-sales maintenance, Qipaijun also observed at another GAC Toyota 4S store that there are currently not many customer vehicles coming to the store for maintenance, and only 4 workstations are operating normally, but considering that it is Visiting the store during the working day, so it is normal to have less traffic.
As for the FAW Toyota 4S store, due to the introduction of the new mid-size sedan Avalon and the updated RAV4 Rongfang last year, and there are cars on display in the store, the number of customers visiting the store to view cars will be slightly better.
After leaving the Toyota 4S store, the next thing we want to visit is the Honda 4S store. As we all know, Honda’s terminal sales in China in 2019 were 1.554 million vehicles, of which Guangqi Honda’s cumulative terminal sales were 765,500 vehicles; Dongfeng Honda’s cumulative terminal sales were 788,900 vehicles. Specific to the models, Civic, Accord, XR-V, Bindu Smart, CR-V, etc. have made a greater contribution to the overall sales, and the Accord once became the monthly sales champion in the domestic mid-size sedan market.
Considering that we are still in the recovery period from the epidemic, the Dongben 4S store that Qi Paijun visited this time did not appear to be overcrowded in the past. At first glance, there were about three groups of customers looking at cars. Entering the store, the sales consultant received us very warmly and answered all our questions in detail. It is understood that the most popular Civic currently has no existing cars, and the discount is about 2,000 yuan. It takes about a month to order a car before you can pick it up.
During the inquiry process, the sales consultant also revealed to Qipaijun that Dongben will also launch a hatchback version of the Civic in the fourth quarter of this year. The new car will be priced higher than the current sedan version of the Civic. However, the hatchback version of the Civic will be equipped with the 1.5T high-power engine from the Accord, with a maximum power of 194 horsepower, so its power performance will be better than the current model.
In addition, Qi Pai Jun also noticed that INSPIRE, which is built on the same platform as the Accord, currently generally has a cash discount of more than 12,000 yuan. Compared with Guangben Accord’s comprehensive discount of 11,000 yuan, INSPIRE is obviously more cost-effective. The sales consultant said that there are currently a few INSPIRE white fuel-powered cars in the store, and if you consider other color models, you have to wait for about a month.
In terms of after-sales maintenance, Qipaijun has observed that about half of the workstations are currently operating normally, and it is estimated that more than 6 vehicles are being maintained at the store. At the same time, more than 6 vehicles are being maintained at the store on weekends. Customers need to make an appointment in advance.
As for Guangben, the new SUV Haoying that has attracted much attention currently has no discounts and no cars are available. You have to wait about a month to pick up the car. The overall price/performance ratio is not as good as Dongben's CR-V. The fuel version of the Accord, which has been on the market for more than a year, has a comprehensive discount of about 11,000 yuan, while the hybrid version has a comprehensive discount of 18,000 yuan. The overall discount is higher than that of the Toyota Camry, but it is the same as the Teana, Magotan, and Arte of the same level. Compared with this, it is still slightly inferior.
Compared with the Japanese "Big Three" such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, Mazda did not improve much in sales last year. In 2019, Mazda's cumulative sales were 227,750 vehicles, a year-on-year decline. 16.4%, of which FAW Mazda sold 91,416 vehicles and Changan Mazda sold 13,334 vehicles.
This time Qi Paijun also visited the FAW Mazda 4S store and learned from the store sales consultant that Atez currently has a terminal discount of about 24,000 yuan, and at the same time, you can also enjoy 6,000 yuan for old car replacements. With replacement subsidies around, the full price of the 2.5L Blue Sky Sports model is less than 200,000. In addition, with a 50% down payment and repayment in 24 installments, you can also enjoy a zero interest policy. It is worth mentioning that whether you purchase the car in full or in installments, you will receive 10 barrels of engine oil as a gift, which to a certain extent reduces the car owner's later maintenance costs. It can be seen that in the face of the epidemic, Mazda has made certain adjustments to the prices of some models.
During this visit to the Japanese joint venture brand 4S store, it is not difficult to find that Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other brands have not reduced product prices due to the outbreak, and even the Dongfeng Nissan 4S store has a car Jun still sees many customers coming to the store to view cars. I believe that after the epidemic, Japanese brands will continue the hot sales momentum last year. As for Mazda, we look forward to ushering in a new round of market opportunities after the introduction of the CX-30.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.