Encryption Of Offline Stores And Overcharge Network: Tesla China'S Expansion Speed

Tesla has launched a new round of comprehensive expansion in China.

Following the production of Model 3 in Shanghai Super Factory and the rapid launch of new models, Tesla has also accelerated the layout of its sales network and after-sales network. Recently, 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that Tesla has opened 2 offline experience stores and 2 service centers since this year.

Data shows that the number of Tesla's offline experience stores and showrooms nationwide has increased from 51 at the beginning of the year to 53, and the number of service centers has increased from 36 to 38. According to an in-depth report of Soochow Securities, Tesla's service centers will expand to 63 this year.

According to other news, the relevant person in charge of Tesla said to the media that the original goal of adding 4000 super charging posts in China this year has not changed due to the epidemic, but has slightly affected the speed of progress.

It is said that the third generation V3 overcharged pile has been put into trial operation in Shanghai Jinqiao. Tesla's third-generation V3 overcharged piles were originally planned to be launched in the second quarter, but due to the impact of the epidemic, they will be delayed to the second half of the year.

Tesla has built a charging network since 2012. At present, it has built more than 2500 super charging piles and 2400 destination charging piles - which means that the construction plan of this year's super charging piles will exceed the sum of the past years.

Behind the positive expansion, the sales of Tesla Motors in the Chinese market grew rapidly. Data shows that in the first quarter of the listing of domestic Model 3, Tesla sold about 18600 vehicles in the Chinese market (accounting for 20% of the company's total delivery). At the same time, as the foreign epidemic has not yet been controlled, the local factories in the United States have been shut down for more than a month, and the Chinese market has also become the top priority of Tesla in the short term.

However, rapid growth is also unusual. According to the data provided by Wilson Information Technology Co., Ltd., the number of Tesla insured vehicles in the Chinese market in April was only 4633, down 25% from the average level in the first quarter, and down more than 50% month on month.

The reason for the poor sales in April is that on the one hand, it is affected by Tesla's own product iteration, and on the other hand, it is also related to the decline in reputation caused by the previous hardware reduction and frequent price adjustment.

An auto industry analyst said that with the increase of car ownership, Tesla is no longer a high-end niche brand in the past, and its product quality and service quality will also be tested by more consumers. In this context, if Tesla wants to achieve long-term and stable development, it needs to further understand the consumption habits of Chinese users, Balance mode innovation and user support.

Sales and service network encryption

Our reporter learned offline that Tesla has opened two new experience stores, one is the experience center in Ganghui Henglong, Xuhui District, and the other is the Chuangzhihui store in Yangpu District.

A person close to Tesla said that the encryption sales network in Shanghai reflects the importance of the regional market. It is worth mentioning that the newly opened Chuangzhihui store has made some breakthroughs in its mode. In addition to normal car purchase, it can also carry out subsequent maintenance.

The above store is called "Tesla Center" (Tesla Experience Center), which is the first one in Shanghai. Huang Xianchang, the store manager, said: "Unlike the previous Service Plus (mainly after-sales) and Retail Lite (mainly sales), the Chuangzhihui store is a multi-functional exhibition center. Here, customers can not only look at cars and make appointments, but also complete the inspection, repair, maintenance, etc. of vehicles."

It is reported that there are only two stores with similar functions in Shanghai, namely Jinqiao and Hongqiao (Tesla currently has 11 sales stores in Shanghai), but Jinqiao is located in the southeast of Shanghai and Hongqiao is located in the southwest. The opening of Chuangzhihui means that stores with similar functions also cover the northeast of Shanghai.

In Tesla's architecture, the service functions of the above stores will also be separately marked with service outlets. The information on the official website shows that Shanghai Chuangzhihui Service Center is still in a trial operation state. In addition, Nancheng Service Center, located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, is also in a trial operation state.

In addition to the service center, the third generation V3 overcharged pile is also under planning. According to the previous statement of the relevant person in charge of Tesla China, 4000 V3 overcharged piles will be built in succession from the second half of this year.

On December 27, 2019, Tesla built the first V3 super charging pile in China at Shanghai Jinqiao Super Charging Station and officially opened it to the outside world. The V3 super charging pile officially entered the Chinese market. This year is the year when it is widely distributed throughout the country.

It is reported that the V3 super charging pile can support a peak charging power of up to 250 kW, which is more than double the performance of the V2 super charging pile compared with 120 kW. "Take the model 3 long endurance version as an example, under the peak power condition, the charging capacity in 5 minutes can drive about 120 kilometers." The above person in charge introduced.

According to the number of existing overcharging piles and destination charging piles of Tesla, the construction of 4000 V3 overcharging piles is almost equivalent to doubling the density of Tesla's public charging network - which was completed within half a year, and this speed is almost unprecedented.

In order to promote the rapid implementation of related projects, Tesla China has also recently recruited personnel for the business development team (BD). This position aims at the location selection of infrastructure projects such as stores/service centers/charging stations in the region, and is responsible for communicating with potential project site selection partners. According to the recruitment information, the position is located in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin and Chengdu.

Sales volume fell back in April

Tesla uses self built channels to sell cars. The pace of opening stores reflects its prediction of the future market to a large extent.

Tesla itself has high growth expectations. Last month, Tesla advanced the domestic progress of the model 3 long endurance model, and quickly responded after the introduction of the new subsidy policy, reducing the starting price of the domestic model 3 standard endurance model to less than 300000 yuan (to meet the subsidy requirements). Last week, Tesla officially announced that the price of the model 3 long endurance model would remain unchanged after the subsidy transition period, It is equivalent to providing "insurance" for domestic models that do not enjoy subsidies.

Tesla has played a series of combination punches to protect the sales price, so that some people describe that "Tesla has played a big game, how can we expect that there are still cards in his hand". Previously, Tesla launched the long endurance version of the domestic Model 3 at a price much lower than the price of the imported version, which has made some users say that it is "very attractive".

However, the market also began to calm down. In the recent April, Tesla's sales in China fell back. According to the above insurance numbers, Tesla only sold 4633 cars in April (4153 of which were domestic Model 3), while in the previous March, the number was 12709 (11280 of which were domestic Molde 3). March itself is a high point. If you look at the average level of 6195 vehicles in the first quarter, April is also much worse.

There are already signs of this situation. After the May Day holiday, some media reported that Tesla's Shanghai factory did not start on schedule on the 6th, but stopped working on the 9th. At that time, there were different opinions about the reason for the shutdown, and Tesla officials responded that it was the reason for the equipment commissioning. In this regard, some people in the industry questioned that the equipment commissioning generally does not take so long. For a factory with full production, the shutdown is likely due to the overstock of inventory.

According to the analysis of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Securities, there were two main reasons for Tesla's sales pullback in China in April. First, the pre-sale of the long endurance model 3 began in early April. Because the price was 40000 yuan higher than the standard endurance, but the endurance and configuration improved a lot, some standard endurance orders were converted to long endurance;

Second, after the introduction of the new subsidy policy in April, it was stipulated that new energy vehicles with more than 300000 yuan would not enjoy subsidies after July 22, which led to consumers' high expectations of Tesla's price reduction after July 22. Some consumers chose to cancel orders or delay delivery, which had a certain negative impact on sales in April.

In fact, the long endurance version of Model 3 has just been delivered in May, and the second analysis will not affect the delivery in April theoretically. However, it should be noted that due to Tesla's frequent price adjustment, price has indeed become an important factor in consumers' purchase decisions: the expectation of price reduction has not only caused wait-and-see sentiment to a certain extent, but also thoroughly persuaded some potential consumers.

Tesla is obviously aware of this, and it is for this reason that Tesla has purposely announced that the price of the long endurance model 3 will remain unchanged after July 22. This is obviously to further promote sales, and also to eliminate worries for users who have recently placed orders.

From some details, Tesla's sales are likely to rebound in May. It is said that the order for the long endurance model 3 has been placed after July 22. But in the long run, Tesla really needs to pay more attention to pricing.

Tesla's frequent price adjustment has caused dissatisfaction among car owners, and even some car owners have taken Tesla to court. According to the litigation service website of the Shanghai Court, between May and June, Tesla Motors Sales Services (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will face more than ten sales contract lawsuits as the defendant. Some people from the plaintiff company said that the cause of the lawsuit was "related to price reduction".

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