US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
    Business / Technology

    JD.com and Tencent to invest $1.55b in Bitauto

    (Agencies) Updated: 2015-01-12 10:12

    Sales of cars go online, but shops close the deal

    JD.com and Tencent to invest $1.55b in Bitauto

    Shanghai GM Buick joined with Tmall to promote online car sales during the Singles' Day shopping promotion on Nov 11,2014. [Photo / Provided to China Daily]

    Online shopping is now a way of life for millions in China and they are buying ever-larger and more expensive items - sometimes even cars.

    During the nation's busiest online shopping period of the year, the heavily promoted Singles' Day on Nov 11, auto portal bitauto.com received 15,796 orders with a combined retail value of 1.87 billion yuan ($305 million).

    On the same day, autohome.com.cn recorded 37,117 orders worth over 6 billion yuan, more than double the orders it received on the same day in 2013.

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has not released figures on auto sales, but its Taobao and Tmall portals had combined overall revenues of 57.1 billion yuan on the day.

    But despite the enthusiasm, some question whether the numbers measure online auto sales or advertising. Even online buyers negotiate, pay and take possession of their cars at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

    But whatever the terminology, auto dealers did attract more potential customers on the day.

    A total of 7,352 dealers in 368 cities participated in bitauto.com's sales campaign and many said they had more visitors.

    "The biggest advantage of online platforms lies in attracting potential customers," Chen Hongsheng, a senior sales manager at automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, told Tencent.com. He said Geely's online shops have tens of thousands of visitors each day while each of its brick-and-mortar shops attracts some 50 visitors daily.

    "At the current stage, the main purpose of online shops is to attract potential customers."

    Experts said another major purpose to go online is brand building, an approach used by Tesla when it announced in late October it would take online orders at Tmall.

    Jack Huang, associate partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants Greater China, said it is a smart move by Tesla because it positions the brand as customer-centric, progressive and technology driven. "By launching on Tmall, Tesla is playing up to the brand's image of transparency as well as the company's direct-to-consumer approach."

    But Michael Ning, vice-president for corporate communications at Volvo Car China, said the dealership experience is still essential to car buyers.

    "Few customers would be willing to buy a new vehicle online without touching it," said Ning.

    He said buying a car is not like buying a book, so customers want to see, touch, drive and get their family's approval on the selection - all processes require a physical location.

    Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co Ltd, said online sales have a long way to go before they are truly significant in the market.

    He said Benz websites have many registered users "but they seldom pay deposits online because they want to test drive and experience our models in traditional stores".

    "Of course, we have our online platforms and we will go forward with the actual conditions," he added.

    Hot Topics

    Editor's Picks
    ...
    人妻少妇久久中文字幕一区二区| 免费无遮挡无码永久视频| 免费A级毛片无码A∨中文字幕下载| 久久婷婷综合中文字幕| 精品国精品无码自拍自在线| 中文字幕1级在线| 最好看的2018中文在线观看| 亚洲AV成人无码久久精品老人 | 无码AV片在线观看免费| 最近最新中文字幕高清免费| 亚洲国产精品无码久久久久久曰 | 无码专区久久综合久中文字幕| 久久超乳爆乳中文字幕| 无码毛片一区二区三区中文字幕 | 久久亚洲精品无码VA大香大香| 中文字幕乱妇无码AV在线| 免费无码黄十八禁网站在线观看 | 中文字幕精品无码一区二区| 制服丝袜人妻中文字幕在线| 精品亚洲成α人无码成α在线观看| 无码人妻精品中文字幕免费 | 日韩精品真人荷官无码| 最新中文字幕av无码专区| 亚洲精品欧美二区三区中文字幕| 欧美乱人伦人妻中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕无码一久久区| 无码精品蜜桃一区二区三区WW | A∨变态另类天堂无码专区| 亚洲av无码无在线观看红杏| 亚洲日韩中文无码久久| 成人无码a级毛片免费| 日韩精品无码一区二区三区AV| 亚洲日本中文字幕天天更新| 无码毛片一区二区三区中文字幕| 久久综合中文字幕| 人妻丰满av无码中文字幕| av中文字幕在线| www日韩中文字幕在线看| 中文字幕一区二区三区日韩精品| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕无码| 日韩综合无码一区二区|