02. Traditional auto repair plants need to “live with broken arms” and seek transformation
The market environment for future car maintenance is so bad, how can traditional small car repair plants build? Transformation or continued scaling up
As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles increases, and in the face of a year-long decline in oil-car holdings, the blockage of 4s stores, capitalized direct branding, and new energy car manufacturers, the future development of traditional small-scale car repair plants faces enormous survival challenges, it is time to realize that traditional maintenance models are no longer suited to market demand, and that the active search for transformation is now a matter for those bosses to think about。
The success rate of the shift to ablution has been relatively high, as seen in the case of auto repair shop transformations previously encountered。
First, this is an industry with a relatively low technological threshold, which requires a larger investment of capital, a pool of talent and can be operated through some simple training and investment than a transition to new energy vehicle maintenance。
Second, there is a wide range of market demand in the car wash industry, including not only traditional services such as car washing, waxing, but also repairing beauty services such as car interior cleaning, jetting, etc., which is large and, more importantly, is almost immune to new energy vehicles。
In addition, unlike vehicle maintenance operations, which require a long cycle, the car wash has a short service cycle, which allows the car wash to rotate and collect quickly。
Formerly approached by a small car repair plant in shanghai, they were forced to transform into a car wash and, in less than six months, their monthly collections recovered from previous earnings。
But there is a need to understand that, relative to maintenance operations, beauty-washing requires more operational thinking, and that the internet's “community culture” must be understood, focusing on precision management and individualized services, such as membership systems, regular visits, community activism, etc。
Of course, there are still some challenges that traditional small and medium-sized workshops face in order to transform into car washes. The market for car wash is highly competitive, and there is no need for a transformational baptism if the business model of “drinking and not afraid of deep alleys” is retained。
There are also young car repair shop owners who have turned to car retrofitting operations, but in the case of interviews, it was difficult to retrofit this road。
Car conversion abroad has a long history and has gradually developed the so-called automobile culture, which has begun to prevail in the country in recent years and seems to have considerable market space。
It should be clear, however, that vehicle modifications are not just power upgrades, but more involve art, design and fittings channels, and that while there is considerable profit space, the funds required are not small amounts for many small vehicle repair plants。
At present, the retrofitting winds are prevalent only in second-line cities, which are difficult to sustain for shop users and to operate。
Traditional mini-car repair plants are not only one way to transform other car operations, they are also biting their teeth and increasing their input。
Technological transformation and upgrading of equipment is one of the important strategies that can be adopted by small traditional automobile repair plants in the face of new energy vehicles. As the market share of conventional fuel vehicles is gradually decreasing as a result of the proliferation of new energy vehicles, the repair and maintenance of new energy vehicles requires higher levels of technology and equipment。
Therefore, if traditional car repair plants do not want to be transformed, they need to continue to expand their inputs, undertake technological transformation and equipment upgrades, and engage or develop repairers specifically for new energy operations to meet market demand。
In contrast, industry professionals predict that there is considerable market space in the area of new energy repairs。
Once determined, the owner of a traditional small vehicle repair plant must develop a sound investment plan, control the cost of inputs, require a costed investment for technological transformation and upgrading of equipment, especially for diagnostic equipment, higher prices and new challenges to the economic power of a small repair plant, and must ensure the viability and profitability of investment。
At the end
As a result of new energy shocks, the entire automobile industry faced major shuffles and even traditional car giants, such as bmws and mercedes, began to transform, and the subdivisions of the automobile industry chain were unable to compete with “greatness”。
Most of the traditional small auto repair plants now face two options: either to transform or to gradually decline, and the “slow” result is to boil frogs with warm water. Either way, transition is the key to the future survival of traditional mini-car repair plants。
In sum, traditional small-scale car repair plants can build and sustain growth in competitive markets only if they respond positively to the needs of the new energy age and provide more specialized services。
