Older companies to strengthen online sales… Hyundai Motor Company and Kia struggle against unions

Input 2021.02.05 15:17

The auto industry is expected to expand its online sales area this year. Online car sales are a trend arising from the inability to conduct active offline events, large-scale visitor, and test-drive events due to Corona 19, and companies can increase customer satisfaction through benefits such as price discounts while reducing incidental costs. A number of car companies, including German companies such as Mercedes and BMW, are building online sales networks or strengthening collaboration with social markets. Hyundai Motor Company (005380)And Kia’s opposition to the union is unlikely to be able to sell online this year.

According to Mercedes-Benz Korea on the 5th, a platform that can do everything from vehicle search to quotation to final contract will be introduced within this year. A Benz Korea official said, “This year, we will strengthen digital marketing tailored to customer needs.”

BMW Korea, which is the most active in online sales among imported cars, sold a total of 20 types of online limited editions of about 470 units last year only through BMW’Shop Online. Starting with the’M5 Competition 35th Anniversary Edition’ in February of last year, limited edition models were steadily introduced to shop online from April to December. The M340i xDrive Touring Dravitt Gray BMW Korea 25th Anniversary Edition, released in September last year, sold out in 15 minutes, and the X7 M50i Dark Shadow model released in November had a competition rate of 104:1 with 2600 simultaneous users.

Audi Volkswagen Korea is not launching its own online platform, but is cooperating with various commercial platforms. After signing a pre-contract with Volkswagen Passat TSI through the Kakao Online Store in 2018, Tiguan sold the 2020 Tiguan through 11st last year. Audi Volkswagen Korea said, “We have no plans yet, but we are considering marketing through various online platforms this year.”

Tesla, which caused the electric car blast, opened the door to the online market earlier than other manufacturers.
Tesla, which declared’offline out’ in the second half of 2019, sold 11,826 units in the domestic market last year only through online sales. In particular, Tesla’s entry-level sedan Model 3 sold 11,003 units, making it the most popular electric car in Korea. Jeep and Jaguar Land Rover also opened a window to purchase vehicles online last year, and the French PSA Group, which owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands, set a goal of selling more than 100,000 units online in the future.

The reaction is also not bad. 11th Street, which sells cars in cooperation with BMW, Audi, and Renault Samsung Motors, has sold 1,800 units over the past year. Assuming that a general car salesperson sells five cars a month and 60 cars a year, this is the level of sales by 30 salespeople for one year. About 470 units, which were released as a limited edition of the BMW Shop Online, were sold out, and Hyundai Motor Company announced that the cumulative number of visitors to the digital purchase platform of the US subsidiary exceeded 1.5 million as of October last year.

In the case of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, online sales are suffering from the opposition of the sales union. Hyundai Motor Company introduced an online sales platform’Click to Buy’ in the US, India, and European markets since last year, but domestic online sales are likely to be difficult this year. The sales union, which consists of sales workers, opposes the protection of the work of existing agencies and salespeople on the grounds that sales of vehicles through online channels reduce their performance.

Increasing online sales can help consumers buy cars at lower prices, and automakers can cut costs. An industry insider said, “Online car sales are an irreversible trend,” and “Before being ignored by consumers who are accustomed to online purchases, we need to come up with a reasonable alternative.”