Following the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the Tianjin Free Trade Zone is also applying for a parallel import pilot. "We have already declared to the state and strive to land the parallel import platform for cars as soon as possible." The relevant person in charge of the Economic Development Bureau of the Airport Economic Zone Management Zone, a section of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, said that the platform will aim at the huge demand of the imported automobile market in the northern region. .
It is noteworthy that although the parallel import pilot has been placed to curb the expectation of high prices for imported luxury cars, as of now, the two-month parallel imported car business in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone has not been expected to be hot. According to industry insiders, parallel imported cars that are out of the gray zone will achieve standardized sales, but this also means higher after-sales service costs. Compared with the traditional imported channel models, the price advantage will be greatly weakened, and whether it can stir up the downturn. The imported auto market remains to be seen.
Beijing parallel imported cars can enjoy "three guarantees"
Parallel imported cars refer to car dealers that bypass the brand authorization of multinational car companies. Cars imported directly from overseas and sold in China have been called “water trucks” in the past. Due to different importing places, it can be divided into "American standard car" and "Middle-class car" to distinguish it from the "medium car" sold by authorized channels.
Beijing consumers are no strangers to parallel imported cars. In the Beichen Asian Games Village car trading market, about 10% of imported models are non-standard cars, which are highly sought after because of their affordable price and personalized models and personalized configuration. However, after the “three guarantees” policy of the automobile, the sales of parallel imported cars were once in trouble, because the dealers were unable to bear the responsibility of the three guarantees alone.
Such awkwardness has recently undergone fundamental changes. At the corner of the one-stop service hall of the Asian city, the “three-inclusive insurance window for parallel imported cars” just opened is particularly eye-catching. Here, the company is stationed in the China Personal Insurance Company, and provides after-sales service vouchers for consumers who purchase parallel imported cars.
According to the “three guarantees” service agreement signed by 22 parallel import car dealers in Asia and China PICC P&C Insurance Co., Ltd., the repair, replacement and return of the package are all realized through insurance. If there are quality problems, the insurance company will bear the economy. Compensation, the duration and scope of insurance are completely consistent with the three-package policy stipulated by the state, covering the risk of vehicle maintenance, replacement and return. Yan Jinghui, deputy general manager of Asia City, said that this also means that the Asian city has become the first auto trading market outside the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to provide comprehensive "three guarantees" service for parallel imported cars.
In January of this year, the huge group that announced the trial of imported cars relied on its own 4S shop system to solve the three-pack problem. According to the statistics of the huge Babs Wufangqiao Center in Beijing, the parallel imported cars, the Middle East BMW X5 and X6, which were sold in January this year, have sold more than 50 single stores by the end of March. At present, the parallel imported cars sold by the huge group, most models can be repaired and maintained in the huge 4S shop, which undoubtedly provides a reliable guarantee for parallel imported cars.
It is understood that Beijing Chengda Automobile, one of the 17 pilot enterprises announced by the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, is also trying to renovate 4S stores, and 4S stores provide professional after-sales services.
Although Shanghai's parallel imported cars sell 20 parallel imported cars, although they have become the target of policy support and encouragement, from the pilot situation of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the market sales are not as hot as expected.
“In the first month after the parallel import opening, more than 10 dealers in the entire free trade zone sold about 20 vehicles.” A parallel import vehicle dealer in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone revealed that “the order situation is not bad. However, the tightness of the car source 'difficult to hand over the car' has become the main reason for the volume of transactions."
In the view of the above dealers, the low volume of parallel imported cars in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is also due to the establishment of the Free Trade Zone, and the process is still in the process of improvement and adaptation. “Compared with imported car sales groups with mature channels and rich experience, some of the companies that have entered the Shanghai Free Trade Zone parallel imported car pilot are small dealers, some of which are entering the automotive sales field for the first time, choosing 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 supply into Shanghai, the sales of parallel imported cars should be improved.
The Shanghai Free Trade Zone's parallel import pilot program requires enterprises and their auto dealers registered in the Pilot Free Trade Zone to fulfill their obligations such as product recall, quality assurance, after-sales service, automobile three-package, and average fuel consumption accounting. At present, some dealers are also trying to solve the three-pack problem by insurance. In addition, the parallel import vehicle comprehensive maintenance center is also being built in the free trade zone.
Previously, due to the lack of clear policy guidelines, China's parallel imported car market has been in a "sneak" state. Among the more than one million imported cars per year, the proportion of imports by parallel imports is only about 10%. Among them, Tianjin Port is a “big family”, accounting for 70% of the country's total imports. In contrast, Shanghai imports are only about 1,000 vehicles a year. The industry predicts that after the parallel import standardization pilot in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, the impact on the domestic imported car market will be more obvious.
The market potential has yet to be tested. The recent sales of the parallel imported car pilots in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone are relatively low, which is also closely related to the overall market environment of imported cars.” Jia Xinguang, a senior industry expert, analyzed.
According to the latest report on China's imported auto market in the first quarter of 2015 released by SINOMACH, the cumulative number of imported cars from January to March 2015 was 258,000, a year-on-year decrease of 17.1%. In the same period, dealers delivered customers imported cars. Reduced by 19.4%. However, from January to February this year, the number of imported cars in China was 223,000, down only 2.9% year-on-year. Wang Cun, senior manager of SINOMACH Marketing Department, said that in the analysis of the sales volume of imported brands such as Toyota and Land Rover from January to February, it was found that the short-term small outbreak of parallel imported auto market led to the growth of the number of imported cars.
Compared with overseas auto markets, China's imported auto prices, especially luxury models, are unusually high. There are tax and fees behind them, as well as factors that monopolize imported auto sources under the brand sales management system. The formalization and legalization of parallel imports of automobiles is considered to have the consideration of restraining the high price of imported cars. However, from the current starting situation, parallel imports have to be difficult to break the high price of luxury cars.
"Whether the parallel importation can continue the situation of the small outbreak at the beginning of the year, further observation is needed." Wang Cun analysis, the most critical factor is the control of global regional markets by multinational manufacturers. If the supply of parallel imported vehicles is stable, there may be a breakthrough. Previously, a number of multinational automakers have stepped up their efforts to crack down on unauthorized export of cars to China and refused to provide after-sales guarantees to non-regulated cars. Recently, Reuters news also said that due to the recent surge in the number of high-end cars that have been exported to China unauthorisedly, posing a threat to car profits in China, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are investigating unauthorized US exports of high-end cars to China.
On the other hand, with the increase in after-sales costs and the increase in the incentives for manufacturers to license imported cars, the price advantage of parallel imported cars is facing an impact. At present, the price of the Audi Q7 35TFSI Middle East version sold in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is 640,000 yuan. The official guide price of the Audi Q7 35TFSI sports type with similar configuration is 887,000 yuan, but the actual price of the terminal is 682,000 yuan. The parallel import of the Middle East version of the Q7 price advantage is only 42,000 yuan.
Some market participants have judged that parallel imports are only an important supplement to the imported car market, and the proportion is not too large, and the scope is limited to a number of individualized special models.

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