New Trend
Alibaba will promote Lifan Auto's sales during large-scale events on dates including June 18, Nov 11 and Dec 12, and Lifan Auto will build a small-sized pure electric car model exclusively for the online platform. The two companies will also cooperate in car financing and after-sales services, according to a joint news release.
"China's auto industry will need to become increasingly buyer-oriented. However, 90 percent of carmakers don't understand what customers really want. The mass of customer data provides insights on where, what, when and how, which provides invaluable insights for business strategy and decision-making."
Hecker said big data is an underutilized weapon in China's auto industry. Within big data, he said, are the answers to what models, accessories or services particular customer segments are interested in.
Hu Bo, chief marketing officer for Greater China and ASEAN sales and marketing, Volkswagen Group China, said: "Earlier, manufacturers and dealers obtained some fragmentary information about customers through disorganized approaches. Thus, they failed to bring customers a seamless experience, which may end with losing customers to other brands.
"But carmakers will not dump their dealers. However, the dealers are facing significant changes in their roles. In the future, they will play a greater role in after sales services, and will gain more from after sales and value-added services."
He said, "The e-commerce platform and dealer channels need to mix together. An online-to-offline platform could be established for seamless convergence."
Alibaba Group and SAIC Motor Corp announced in March they would invest 1 billion yuan ($163.9 million) in a fund to develop Internet-connected vehicles, and a 50-50 joint venture will be set up based on the fund.