Because it is cheaper to buy a car in Foshan than in Guangzhou, in April this year, he went to the BMW 4S store in Ding Baoxing, Foshan, and bought a BMW X3? 28i, the landing price is 430,000, paid in full. At that time, the 4S shop promised to deliver the car before June 10, but it was not until June that the car was seen.
In desperation, Mr. Z found a friend to help. With the intervention of the manufacturer, he finally successfully mentioned the car in mid-July.
Mr. Z is lucky, because this year many car owners who bought luxury cars such as BMW, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover paid the money, but they couldn't get the car.
They have one thing in common, that is, they all bought cars in the 4S shop of Zheng Tong Automobile Group.
Who is Zheng Tong Auto? Chinese mainland's first luxury car dealer group listed in Hong Kong is one of the core dealers of luxury brands, ranking 1 1 in "20 19 Top 100 Dealer Groups in China Automobile Circulation Industry".
In the last two years, the domestic automobile market has continued to decline. Luxury car is the only market segment that grows against the trend, and it recovers fastest in the post-epidemic period. Why do Zheng Tong cars, which mainly deal in luxury brands, frequently explode in 4S stores?
Holding the distribution rights of many luxury brands, how did Zheng Tong commit suicide?
Many Zheng Tong 4S stores have been exposed, and it is impossible to pick up cars.
Recently, many consumers put up banners in front of Foshan Baoyun BMW 4S store to protect their rights, because the BMW they bought was delayed in delivery.
Is there no existing car in the 4S shop? No, the cars are all in the 4S shop, but the owner just can't pick them up.
After anxious car owners kept asking, the sales consultant of 4S shop told the reason why it was impossible to pick up the car: the new car certificate was mortgaged by the company in the bank, because the company was short of money and could not call the bank, so it was impossible to pick up the car.
According to the data, Foshan Baoyun BMW 4S Store (Foshan Baoyun Automobile Sales & Service Co., Ltd.) belongs to Zheng Tong Automobile Service Co., Ltd., just like the BMW 4S Store in Ding Baoxing, Foshan (Foshan Ding Baoxing Automobile Sales & Service Co., Ltd.) mentioned at the beginning.
In addition to these two 4S stores, there are many dealerships exposed by the media in Zheng Tong, including Guangzhou Baoze BMW 4S store, Hubei Jingmen Baoze BMW 4S store, Hubei Aoze 4S store (Audi), Hainan Zhongqi South 4S store (Jaguar Land Rover) and Fujian Zhongqi South 4S store (Jaguar Land Rover), all over Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Jiangxi and Guangzhou.
The content of the complaint is "unable to pick up the car after payment".
The specific reasons are exactly the same, all because the head office is short of funds, the pledge of vehicle certificate can not be redeemed in the bank, the date when consumers pick up the car is extended indefinitely, and the whereabouts of the paid funds are unknown.
In fact, this is not a recent phenomenon.
As early as last June, more than 20 consumers encountered difficulties in picking up their cars at the Guangzhou Automobile Baoze 4S store under Zhengtongqi. Since then, more and more dealerships under Zheng Tong Automobile have had similar complaints, and a large number of concentrated outbreaks have occurred in the last two months.
According to the sales consultants of 4S stores all over the country, the problem is not in 4S stores, but in Zheng Tong Automobile, the head office.
Financial crisis? Business conditions have deteriorated.
The reason for consumers' rights protection in many places is that Zheng Tong Automobile pledged the vehicle certificate in the bank and failed to deliver the vehicle because it could not redeem the certificate. The logic behind it is clear at a glance: Zheng Tong is short of money!
It used to be an avenue with incomparable scenery.
It mainly distributes luxury brand cars, including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Cadillac, England and finidi, and also operates mid-range brand dealerships such as FAW-Volkswagen, Buick, Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.
On 20 10 12 10, Zheng Tong automobile was listed on the main board of Hong Kong, becoming the first luxury car dealer group in mainland China to be listed in Hong Kong.
A year later, Zheng Tong Automobile acquired Shenzhen Zhongqi South Group, which was twice its size, for 5.5 billion yuan, and staged a classic case of "snake swallowing elephant", which became famous in the industry.
Since then, Zheng Tong Auto has become the core dealer of BMW, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo in China. By the end of 20 19, Zheng Tong Automobile had 135 distribution outlets in China. In 20 18, Zheng Tong Automobile ranked 1 1 among the national dealers with a revenue of 38.743 billion yuan and a sales volume of17130,000 vehicles.
However, a financial crisis caused Zheng Tong cars to fall as high as they are now.
In 20 19, Zheng Tong automobile sold103,000 new cars, down about 8.3% year-on-year, but the profit decline was much higher than the sales decline: the net profit decreased by 39% year-on-year to only 767 million yuan. The reason for the decline in profits comes down to "the decline in gross profit and the increase in financing costs".
By the end of 20 19, the company's current assets were 2,465,438+36 million yuan, a decrease of 804 million yuan compared with the same period of 20 18; Cash and cash equivalents are about 65.438+49.7 million yuan, which is 65.438+465.438+40 million yuan lower than 29.65438+0.1100 million yuan in 2065.438+08.
Due to the growth of loans and borrowings, the company's current liabilities (referring to the debts that the enterprise will repay within 65,438+0 years or a business cycle, reflecting the short-term solvency and liquidation ability of the enterprise) increased by 8.5% year-on-year to 258,643,809,000 yuan.
Affected by the epidemic, the financial performance of Zheng Tong Automobile has further deteriorated this year.
The first quarter of 2020 showed that its operating income in the first quarter of 2020 was 365,438+0.365,438+0 billion yuan, down 64% year-on-year; The net profit was a loss of 54 million yuan, compared with a profit of 200 million yuan in the same period last year; The net cash flow from operating activities was-1.1.60 billion yuan, compared with1.20 billion yuan in the same period last year.
On August 26th, Zheng Tong Automobile issued a profit warning again, saying that the expected loss in the first six months of this year was not less than1331000000000 yuan, while the profit in the same period last year was 47 100000000 yuan. "The loss mainly comes from the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of about 65,438+04.65 yuan, and the decline in operating profit caused by the outbreak of the epidemic at the beginning of the year."
In order to alleviate the financial pressure, Zheng Tong Automobile has been borrowing from at discount stocks at high cost since the beginning of the year to repay debts and replenish liquidity.
In June of this year, 5438+ 10 and February, Zheng Tong Automobile * * * issued US$ 65438+73 million (equivalent to RMB165438+95 million) senior notes, with an annual interest rate as high as 12%. In contrast, the cost of multi-issue bonds issued by another luxury car dealer, China Automobile, at the end of 20 19 is only 7. 1%.
Faced with the current liabilities of 2581900 million yuan, the bonds of1730 million dollars naturally cannot quench their thirst. 16 In July, Zheng Tong placed shares at a discount of 15.5%, raising 267 million Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to 238 million yuan). The total amount of the two financing14.33 million yuan is just a drop in the bucket.
On July 2 1 day, Zheng Tong Auto defaulted on its installment loan of about $ KLOC-0/billion, which made Zheng Tong's capital chain dilemma known to the world.
Why do luxury car dealer giants explode?
Business difficulties, high-cost debts, and selling themselves to survive, why did this luxury car dealer giant fall to this point?
The main reason for the bankruptcy of another dealer giant group is the same: the expansion is too radical.
From "Snake Swallow Elephant" buying China Automobile South to expanding dealer network, and then getting involved in automobile finance business, Zheng Tong Automobile's business strategy was too radical and did not control the rhythm well, which led to a growing gap between cash flow and short-term liabilities, and finally fell into debt crisis.
In addition, the cold winter in the automobile market also played a catalytic role.
In 20 19, among the five dealers specializing in luxury and ultra-luxury brands, Harmony Automobile, Zheng Tong Automobile, Mei Dong Automobile, Yongda Automobile and Guanghui Baoxin, only Mei Dong Automobile and Yongda Automobile achieved double growth in revenue and profit.
In 2020, the sudden epidemic increased the burden on dealers. According to the "Survival Report of National Automobile Dealers in the First Half of 2020" released by china automobile dealers association, the total number of passenger car dealers in the first half of this year was 29,800, of which 4S stores that withdrew from the network reached 1.0 19; Among them, nearly 40% of dealers lost money, with an average gross profit margin of -3.5%.
In the stock market, dealers fight price wars to seize the market at the expense of profits, and the phenomenon of price inversion is serious, which further highlights the operational difficulties of dealers. Zheng Tong Auto's 4S shop lures consumers to buy cars at low prices to achieve the purpose of capital turnover. At the beginning of this article, Mr. Z in Guangzhou was attracted by preferential treatment.
Now, Zheng Tong Auto, which is in crisis, has to sell its equity to solve its difficulties.
On July 3 1 day, Zheng Tong Automobile announced that the controlling shareholder intends to sell 29.9% of the company's shares at a premium, and the takeover party is Xiamen Guo Mao Holding Group Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise controlled by Xiamen Municipal Government 100%.
The automobile dealer business of Xiamen Guo Mao Holdings is mainly owned by Xiamen Xinda Guo Mao Automobile Group Co., Ltd. Cinda Guo Mao is the most influential automobile dealer group in Fujian Province, with a total sales volume of 42,000 vehicles in 20 19 and a total operating income of 9.406 billion yuan, ranking 49th among 100 dealers.
If the transaction is completed, the control right of Zheng Tong Auto will change. However, Zheng Tong Auto also pointed out in the announcement that the transaction cannot be completed before the formal sale and purchase agreement is signed, that is to say, there may be variables in the equity transaction between the two parties.
The experience of Zheng Tong Automobile reflects the current predicament of the automobile dealer industry. With the help of industry transformation, enterprises will survive the fittest in the market competition, and the industry concentration will be further improved. More dealer groups will break out in the future.
The huge group finally turned losses into profits by selling assets, shrinking distribution outlets and issuing bond financing. Whether Zheng Tong automobile can be favored by the lucky god like a huge group and usher in a turning point depends on its ability.
In recent years, the thunder of dealers also reminds consumers to do more homework before buying a car, especially to know more about the dealer's operation, and not to be blinded by the discount, otherwise it is easy to suffer huge losses for more discounts.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.