Why parallel imports won’t save official dealers?
- September 1, 2022
- 0
Since March, deliveries of new cars to Russia have fallen sharply and in most cases have stopped altogether. Which the Chinese quickly took advantage of, expanding their audience
Since March, deliveries of new cars to Russia have fallen sharply and in most cases have stopped altogether. Which the Chinese quickly took advantage of, expanding their audience significantly. But you won’t get tired of some brands from the Middle Kingdom, so the government has opened parallel imports – gray imports, for which they don’t scold. Whether it will help those who were the official representative of a foreign car brand yesterday, the AvtoVzglyad portal found out.
A new car is a rarity these days because there is no product and prices are a space that cannot be reached. The entire existing “balance” is being taken apart by corporate customers, who still have enough working capital to pay the lease payments. A private buyer is forced to either take out a loan at an astonishing rate or build up cash and consider a used car from Europe-Korea-Japan.
New names are starting to take over the market: here are Chinese automakers, who were nameless yesterday and “who will pay so much for it”, and gray suppliers who can bring a good car for the price of a new LADA. Both those and others feel good and have already settled down, judging by the traffic on the roads. But the question remains: how can official dealers, who previously not only lived, but ruled the market, get into this equation?
There are about 3,000 official dealer gas stations in Russia, the lion’s share of which had to do with a shortage of goods for sale. There is a money hole as big as an abyss. Simply put, the obligatory payments remained the same, and the profit – especially the part they had become accustomed to during the pandemic, when cars were sold at a monstrous price increase, demanding 500,000 rubles for carpets and anti-corrosion agents – fell into oblivion. The Chinese are not enough for everyone, so you have to come up with something.
The surest recipe for survival ever – service – will not work today: there are no spare parts in warehouses, and service programs are disabled on many brands. Also, with warranty repairs, not everything is easy, making it increasingly difficult to attract a customer. It seems that the government has already issued a solution: parallel imports. For example, don’t listen to anyone, visit yourself and sell on your own sites. At first glance, it looks like a workflow. But it has one major drawback: the number of cars brought under “parallel imports” cannot be compared with what was previously officially delivered.
Let’s face it, it’s simply impossible to bring as many cars into the series as the dealer needs to survive. In order for official dealers to exist, they must be supplied with constant and huge supplies. What is the parallel import for one-off batches? Moreover, in order to survive today and tomorrow, the officials must not only sell a lot, but also have the after-sales service, on which the manufacturer’s warranty is based. If there is no guarantee, who will pay three times for the service? The answer lies on the surface: nobody.
The dealer’s work schedule is simple and straightforward: sale of a new car – service – trade-in – sale of a new car. And so on to infinity. The schedule has been broken. What to replace with? What new services should be introduced and how can they be promoted? It’s time to take over your head and not rely on partners. Now everyone is for themselves. And then the theory of evolution comes in – the fittest will survive. And besides, you should start thinking with a new explanation of your work and your exorbitant prices. The status of official dealer is no longer suitable for this.
Photo avtovzglyad.ru
A new car is a rarity these days because there is no product and prices are a space that cannot be reached. The entire existing “balance” is being taken apart by corporate customers, who still have enough working capital to pay the lease payments. A private buyer is forced to either take out a loan at an astonishing rate or build up cash and consider a used car from Europe-Korea-Japan.
New names are starting to take over the market: here are Chinese automakers, who were nameless yesterday and “who will pay so much for it”, and gray suppliers who can bring a good car for the price of a new LADA. Both those and others feel good and have already settled down, judging by the traffic on the roads. But the question remains: how can official dealers, who previously not only lived, but ruled the market, get into this equation?
There are about 3,000 official dealer gas stations in Russia, the lion’s share of which had to do with a shortage of goods for sale. There is a money hole as big as an abyss. Simply put, the obligatory payments remained the same, and the profits – especially the part they had become accustomed to during the pandemic, when cars were sold at a monstrous price increase and demanded 500,000 rubles for carpets and anti-corrosion agents – fell into oblivion. The Chinese are not enough for everyone, so you have to come up with something.
The surest recipe for survival ever – service – will not work today: there are no spare parts in warehouses, and service programs are disabled on many brands. Also, with warranty repairs, not everything is easy, making it increasingly difficult to attract a customer. It seems that the government has already issued a solution: parallel imports. For example, don’t listen to anyone, visit yourself and sell on your own sites. At first glance, it looks like a workflow. But it has one major drawback: the number of cars brought under “parallel imports” cannot be compared with what was previously officially delivered.
Let’s face it, it’s simply impossible to bring as many cars into the series as the dealer needs to survive. In order for official dealers to exist, they must be supplied with constant and huge supplies. What is the parallel import for one-off batches? Moreover, in order to survive today and tomorrow, officials must not only sell a lot, but also have the after-sales service, on which the manufacturer’s warranty is based. If there is no guarantee, who will pay three times for the service? The answer lies on the surface: nobody.
The dealer’s work schedule is simple and straightforward: sale of a new car – service – trade-in – sale of a new car. And so on to infinity. The schedule has been broken. What to replace with? What new services should be introduced and how can they be promoted? It’s time to take over your head and not rely on partners. Now everyone is for themselves. And then the theory of evolution comes in – the fittest will survive. And besides, you should start thinking with a new explanation of your work and your exorbitant prices. The status of official dealer is no longer suitable for this.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.
