According to the data disclosed by the Ministry of Public Security, the vehicle ownership in China reached 137 million vehicles by the end of 2013. At the same time, the production and sales volume of the auto market last year exceeded 20 million vehicles. The huge market presence and considerable increments make the big cake in the car market look beautiful. In fact, it is not so easy to eat this big cake.
Once responsible for Dongfeng Automobile aftermarket, now Secretary of the China Europe International Business School Alumni Automobile Industry Club Secretary General Zhou Renren said that it is an indisputable fact that the aftermarket will become an important source of profit for the auto industry. However, the industry's simple and rough development model, uneven service levels, and vicious competition are constraining the healthy development of the domestic auto market. After further investigation, why does this phenomenon occur in the domestic auto market? This will start with the entire automotive industry eco-chain.
Monopoly and antitrust <br> <br> a long time, OEMs in the automotive industry in China has been playing a dominant role. Not only strictly control the vehicle sales channels, but also monopolize the original parts, the distribution channels of auto parts, blocking the maintenance of knowledge, and thus forced consumers to only 4S shop for repair and service. In the end, consumers become "profit delivery cows" for car companies.
“Why is there very few Chinese consumers pay for independent after-sales products or services? Because there is no maintenance information in the independent aftermarket. To a certain extent, the value of information is much higher than the value of the parts themselves.†Wang Hua told reporters. It said that maintenance information in China's autos is mainly controlled by the main engine plant, maintenance information is not available in the after-sales field, and consumers naturally lack confidence in the quality of after-sales maintenance.
The European automotive aftermarket is indeed another scene. The data shows that new cars in Europe within 2 years are mainly maintained in 4S stores. As the age of vehicles grows, the proportion of auto-selected independent repair shops continues to increase, and independent after-sale brands enjoy a very high status in Europe. The OEM has no right to control where the parts of the OEM or parts manufacturer are ultimately sold. One of the important reasons for this is that Europe has set up a very complicated and specific legal system in the areas of intellectual property, alliances, monopolies, mergers, and state aid for the automotive aftermarket.
It is worth mentioning that in Europe, the way that early OEMs treated post-sale maintenance information was also closed. However, the independent maintenance factory eventually obtained the maintenance information of the car by initiating a campaign and actively fighting for it. Of course, the disclosure of information will also take into consideration the interests of all parties concerned and use the information required to fix the car as a measure.
Who will protect orderly competition?
In addition to the strict restrictions imposed by European law on the behavior of the OEM in the aftermarket, the orderly competition in the European automotive aftermarket cannot be separated from the major organizations representing different stakeholders. Wang Hua, head of China's KEDGE Business School in Marseille, France, said that in the European automotive sector, each system has an organization that represents the interests of the system, while China lacks related organizations.
In Germany, for example, the Directorate-General of Competition plays an important role in the entire automotive system. It is responsible for supporting the normal operation of the entire European automobile industry and at the same time ensuring fair competition across the industry. The OEMs represented by Mercedes-Benz and BMW have established auto craft associations that represent their own interests; auto parts suppliers established by Bosch and Hella have established auto supplier associations; they are responsible for wholesalers and retailers after the production of spare parts. The Chamber of Commerce established a circulation association.
In addition, there is one point that can not be ignored. China's auto aftermarket has low barriers to entry, lacks high-quality maintenance personnel, and does not have perfect assessment standards and systems. This provides a convenient environment for the disorderly competition in the aftermarket. In Europe, the requirements for independent after-sales staff are very strict. According to Wang Hua, Europe has set up a special organization to train maintenance personnel. This includes not only the maintenance personnel of the main engine plant, but also the maintenance personnel of independent maintenance plants. The maintenance information is synchronized, and the final assessment criteria is maintenance skills rather than theory.
The drawbacks brought about by the monopoly of the domestic OEMs in the after-sales sector have gradually emerged. How to balance the social benefits and economic benefits of the auto's independent aftermarket market has become one of the topics the government is actively studying. In the light of the development of the post-auto market in developed countries, China still has a long way to go to achieve a healthy balance of the automotive aftermarket eco-chain.