The automotive sector in China has turned into a buyer's market, and become one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world. Distribution aspects are emerging as a major battleground.
Increasing production capacities as well as a broad model offer put huge pressure on vehicle prices, and make more than ever the force of distribution decisive. Car manufacturers not only have to set up a most comprehensive dealer network, they also need to make sure that the quality of their sales force is at the highest level.
TNS China has already in 2004 set up a tool to monitor the service performance of car dealers, and to measure the retail transaction prices in the 5 major auto cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen.
The price monitoring focuses on:
Retail pricing
Discounts
Promotional offers
The dealership evaluation includes:
Dealership facilities
Displayed car models
Sales force competency (skills, product knowledge, price negotiation)
Execution of sales standards
The study covers more than 40 different models across all major passenger vehicle segments: small, lower medium, upper medium, entry luxury, medium luxury, upper luxury, MPV, and SUV.
The dealer service performance- and price monitoring provides a picture about the market situation at a given moment as well as long term analyses, and is conceived as syndicated market research with an opportunity of subscription for 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.
Key advantages of a syndicated study
Lower costs through cost sharing for data collection
Comprehensive coverage of the research topic
Customized analysis and reporting according to individual requirements
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