Car parallel import is expected to Tianjin pilot

Following the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the Tianjin Free Trade Zone is also applying for a parallel import pilot. “We have declared to the country and strived for the parallel import platform for automobiles to land on the ground as soon as possible.” A person in charge of the Economic Development Bureau of the Administrative Committee of the Airport Economic Zone, which is part of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, said that the platform will target the huge demand for the imported automobile market in the north. .

It is worth noting that even though the parallel import pilot was placed on suppressing the high monopoly price of imported luxury cars, as of now, the number of parallel imports of imported automobiles in Shanghai Free Trade Zone has not been expected to be hot in the past two months. Industry insiders analyze that the parallel imported vehicles that come out of the gray zone will achieve standardized sales, but this also means higher after-sales service costs. Compared with the models of the traditional import channels, the price advantage will inevitably be weakened, whether it will stir the downturn. The import automotive market remains to be seen.

Beijing Parallel Imported Vehicles Can Enjoy "Three Guarantees"

Parallel import cars are cars that the car dealers bypass the authorization of multinational car companies and are imported directly from abroad and sold in China. They were previously called "water trucks." Because of the different places of import, it can be divided into "American regulations car", "Middle East version car", etc., in order to distinguish from "authorized vehicles" sold by authorized channels.

Beijing consumers are not unfamiliar with parallel imported cars. In the Beichen Asian Games Village automobile trading market, about 10% of the imported models are non-Chinese vehicles, which are highly sought after because of their affordable prices and personalized models and personalized configurations. However, after the “Three Guarantees” policy for automobiles, the sales of parallel imported cars once fell into a predicament because the distributors could not afford the Three Guarantees responsibility alone.

This kind of paralysis has recently undergone fundamental changes. The corner of the one-stop service hall in the city of Asia, the newly opened "three-pack insurance processing window for parallel imported cars" has attracted particular attention. Here, the company entered the China PICC Property Commissioner and provided evidence of after-sales service for consumers purchasing parallel imported vehicles.

According to the "Three Guarantees" service agreement signed between 22 parallel imported car dealers in Asia and China PICC, the three aspects of repair, replacement, and returning are realized through insurance. If there are quality problems, the insurance company will ultimately bear the economic burden. Indemnity, the duration and scope of insurance are completely the same as the three-package policy stipulated by the state, covering the risk of vehicle maintenance, replacement, and return. Yan Jinghui, deputy general manager of the city of Asia, said that this also means that the Asian city outside the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will be the first car trading market to provide comprehensive after-sale "three guarantees" services for parallel imported vehicles.

The huge group that announced the introduction of test cars in January this year relied on its own 4S shop system to solve the Three Guarantees problem. According to the statistics of the huge Barbus Bridge in Beijing, the parallel imports of the BMW X5 and X6, which were sold in the Middle East in January this year, have sold more than 50 vehicles in the single store by the end of March. At present, a large number of parallel imported cars are sold by large groups, and most of the models can be repaired and maintained at a huge 4S shop. This undoubtedly provides a reliable guarantee for parallel imported cars.

It is also understood that Beijing Chengxinda Automobile, one of the 17 pilot companies announced in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, is also trying to transform the 4S store and provide professional after-sales service by the 4S store.

Shanghai Parallel Import Vehicle Monthly Sale 20 Vehicles

Although parallel imports of vehicles have become the object of policy support and encouragement, but from the pilot conditions of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the market sales are not as expected.

"In the first month after the parallel import opening, more than 10 distributors in the entire free trade zone sold a total of about 20 vehicles," said a parallel imported car dealership in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. "The order status is not bad, However, the shortage of cars has become a major factor affecting trading volume.

According to the above-mentioned dealers, the low turnover of parallel imported cars in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was also due to the fact that the Free Trade Zone was just established and the process was still in the process of improvement and adaptation. "Compared to imported car sales groups with mature channels and rich experience, some companies that were short-listed for parallel imported car pilots in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone were small distributors. Some of them entered the automobile sales field for the first time and they chose to cooperate with trading companies or redevelop the Middle East. And the source of supply in the United States, it will take time." He analyzed that when the bulk of the supply in April to enter Shanghai, parallel import car sales should be increased.

The pilot project for parallel import of automobiles in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone requires companies and their car dealers registered in the Pilot Free Trade Zone to fulfill the obligations of product recalls, quality assurance, after-sales services, auto three packs, and average fuel consumption accounting. At present, some dealers are also trying to solve the three-pack problem by way of insurance. In addition, a parallel import vehicle comprehensive maintenance center is also being constructed in the free trade zone.

Previously, due to lack of clear policy guidelines, China's parallel imported car market has been in a "sneak" state. Of the more than one million imported cars a year, only about 10% are imported by parallel imports. Among them, the Tianjin Port is a “big family”, accounting for 70% of the country’s total imports. In contrast, Shanghai imports only about 1,000 vehicles a year. The industry predicts that after the trial of parallel import standardization in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, the impact on the domestic imported car market will be more pronounced.

Market potential remains to be tested

According to the latest "China's Imported Automobile Market Report for the First Quarter of 2015" released by China National Machinery Corporation, the cumulative number of imported automobiles from January to March 2015 was 258,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 17.1%. In the same period, dealers delivered customers' imported cars year-on-year. Decrease 19.4%. However, from January to February this year, the number of imported cars on the country’s cars was 223,000, a decrease of only 2.9% year-on-year. Wang Cun, senior manager of the marketing department of SINOMACH, said that in the analysis of the brand volumes of imported brands such as Toyota and Land Rover from January to February, it was discovered that the short-term outbreak of the parallel import car market led to an increase in the number of license plates on imported cars.

Compared with overseas auto markets, the prices of Chinese imported vehicles, especially luxury models, are extremely high. There are reasons behind the taxes and fees, and there are also factors that monopolize imported vehicles under the brand sales management system. The formalization and legalization of the parallel import of automobiles are considered to have the consideration of restraining the high price of imported vehicles. However, judging from the current starting situation, it is still somewhat difficult for parallel imports to break the monopoly price of luxury cars.

“Whether the parallel import can continue the trend of small outbursts at the beginning of the year still needs further observation.” Wang Cun analyzed that the most crucial factor is the control of multinational manufacturers on the global regional market. If the supply of parallel imported vehicles is stable, there may be a breakthrough. Prior to this, a number of multinational car companies have stepped up their efforts to crack down on unauthorized exports to China and refused to provide after-sale protection to non-Chinese vehicles. Reuters news also said that because of the recent surge in the number of unlicensed high-end cars exported to China, which poses a threat to car companies’ profits in China, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are investigating unauthorized U.S. exports to China.

On the other hand, with the increase in after-sales costs and the increase in the preferential rate for manufacturers to authorize imported vehicles, the price advantage of parallel imported vehicles is facing an impact. At present, the price of the Audi Q7 35TFSI Middleware for sale in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is 640,000 yuan. The official guide price for the Audi Q7 35TFSI sport similar to that of the China Free Trade Zone is 897,000 yuan, but the actual selling price of the terminal is 682,000 yuan. The parallel imported Q7 Middle East price advantage is only 42,000 yuan.

Some market participants have concluded that parallel importation is an important supplement to the imported car market, and that the proportion will not be too large, and the range will also be limited to some personalized special models.

The price advantage is not enough to become a decisive factor in car purchase. After-sales service is a problem that must be considered. At present, the parallel import car project has just started and the entire market mechanism is under construction. It is not yet perfect, and consumers should not rush to shoot.