As we all know, the second-hand car circulation in developed countries in Europe and the United States has formed a specialized division of labor and a full range of services. In particular, brand dealers in Germany generally attach great importance to the used car business. They usually display well-prepared used cars in important display positions in the store, and the appearance is the same as that of new cars. Most of the refurbishment services are outsourced to Smart Repair professional service providers. Smart Repair is a professional refurbishment service between car repair and beauty.
In the online live event of "Overseas Market Observation - Used Car Repair: Smart Repair's Unexplored Virgin Land" recently held by the China Automobile Dealers Association's Industry Coordinated Development Working Committee, the general manager of Germany's Zhesen Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., SG- Yang Lei, partner of Auto's operation and service, introduced the development of the used car repair business and Smart Repair in Germany in detail.
Status of the used car market in Germany
The German market is a relatively mature used car market. In the past 20 years, the sales of new cars and used cars have maintained a relatively stable trend. The sales of new cars are around 3 million and the sales of used cars are around 7 million. In the past three years, affected by the epidemic, energy shortages, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and soaring raw material prices, the sales of new cars have declined significantly, and the second-hand car market has also declined, but the sales have been relatively stable.
In comparison, the sales price of new cars has increased slightly, from 33,500 euros in 2019 to 37,800 euros in 2021. The sales price of used cars has increased significantly, from 12,500 euros in 2019 to 2.27% in 2021. 10,000 euros, mainly due to a decline in the number of new cars and an increase in the demand for used cars.
There are three main types of sales entities in the German used car market: brand dealers, independent dealers and private transactions. German private transactions dominated the market until 2015. In recent years, brand dealers' used car market share has increased year by year, and the average price of used cars sold by brand dealers is higher than the market average.
At present, all German brand manufacturers have launched brand-certified used cars, and other major imported brands also have corresponding certified used cars.
German brand dealers generally value the importance of quasi-new used car business, and will display well-prepared used cars in important store locations.
The Rise of Smart Repair
Smart Repair can be seen from the name as a part of maintenance. SMART is Small to Medium Area Repair Technology. It first emerged in 2013. The main reason for the rise is the stagnation of new car sales in the German auto market; the gross profit of used car sales has declined; Longer vehicle maintenance intervals; fewer car accidents.
The main advantages of Smart Repair are: 1. Reduce maintenance costs. For end customers, the cost savings can reach 50% to 80% of traditional maintenance costs; 2. Reduce working hours; 3. Improve profit margins, Smart Repair per hour The profit margin is 30% to 40% higher than the traditional maintenance method.
The market potential of Smart Repair is huge. According to relevant market research, the total market value of SMART repair services in Germany in 2015 exceeded 200 million euros (about 1.5 billion yuan), and in 2020, it has risen by nearly 1 billion euros (about 7 billion yuan).
The role of intelligent maintenance in the used car maintenance business
The criteria for refurbishing a used car is not only its appearance, but also the vehicle's flawless technical condition.
Smart Repair is an important part of used car refurbishment. The standard used car maintenance is divided into four stages:
The first stage: technical performance maintenance of used cars (if there is no need for technical performance maintenance, you can directly enter the second stage);
Stage 2:
1. Remove damaged parts, order new parts;
2. Remove scratches and dents, do spot repair;
3. Body care, replace/repair window glass;
4. Component or body paint; 5. Depth clean;
The third stage: installation of parts, tire replacement, body film;
The fourth stage: appearance beauty, taking photos.
Outsourcing of used car maintenance and its main advantages
There are four things you need to do to start a Smart Repair business:
1. There must be an independent Smart Repair center;
2. To have dealers and maintenance companies to recruit or train professional maintenance technicians;
3. Cooperate with professional intelligent maintenance enterprises, including purchasing consumables or hardware;
4. Outsource to a professional auto repair company, which can provide door-to-door service or mobile service.
The advantages of Smart Repair business outsourcing are eight points for enterprises:
1. Let the workshop staff focus more on the core business;
2. Improve the disposal efficiency of leased and returned vehicles, which can ensure the inventory time of second-hand vehicles;
3. Ensure the standardization of used car business;
4. Manpower outsourcing, saving labor costs;
5. No input cost;
6. No purchase cost of equipment and consumables;
7. Flexible choice according to the order situation;
8. Ensure inventory time.
Introduction of used car maintenance and intelligent maintenance enterprises
The current market price for Smart Repair in Germany is between 40 and 80 euros for simply repairing a single paint damage with a diameter of 25 mm, with multiple paint damage repairs reducing the price.
Crack removal starts from 50 euros. Simple removal of a dent with a diameter of 25 mm and a depth of about 3 mm costs between 30 and 100 euros.
Dashboard, repair damage up to 30mm, costs about 30-50 euros.
As an interior, if the interior is textile, it is about 10 to 30 euros per damaged place, and leather is more than 100 euros.
Simple repair of windshield stone damage starts from 50 euros, and the distance from the edge of the window should be more than 10cm.
