"Our store sold only 1 heavy truck in November last year."
Talking about the bleak sales situation in November last year, Shandong Shouguang heavy truck dealer Lao Wang was unable to do anything. In October last year, when interviewed by reporters in his shop, he had hundreds of new cars in his hands, of which more than 40 were already on the card of the State II heavy truck. Now this group of cars still hasn't taken off. In the first half of last year, the heavy-duty card market was hot, and Pharaoh's 4S shop sold 1200 vehicles. However, in September last year, the monthly sales fell to 30 vehicles. In October, it only sold more than 10 vehicles. In November, it was even worse. The monthly sales of a car made Pharaoh wait for the store to close. 
During the period of depressed market, manufacturers put their hands in the winter with their distributors and suppliers.
Market downturn, disheartened dealers
The situation of Pharaoh is not a case. From past years, July to September each year is the traditional off-season for the heavy-duty truck market. It will gradually warm in October, but it did not improve until the end of last year. In January of this year, his shop was still deserted.
Stimulated by the good news of the country’s 4 trillion yuan investment, the dump truck market will be favored. Due to the fact that many projects have not yet started, the pulling effect of the heavy truck market has not yet appeared. Due to the sharp decline in demand in the logistics and transportation markets, the towing vehicle market was greatly affected and sales volume fell to the bottom. At present, heavy trucks in Shanxi have already reached 50% to 70% of heavy trucks, and Lanzhou, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have also experienced large numbers of logistics vehicles being out of service. Trucks that run short-distance transport are relatively less likely to stop, and long-haul trucks are affected.
Pan Ke-Ning, chairman of Guizhou Huaxing Material Automotive Trade Co., Ltd., told reporters that in December of last year, his company sold only 3 heavy trucks and its sales volume was less than half of the same period of last year.
“It is difficult to say whether we can improve after March of this year. Now we are a little disheartened and want to switch to another business.†Fu Xuedong, general manager of Weifang Dongkai Industrial Co., Ltd., said that he was the sales champion of Sinotruk. It is also an important distributor for the emancipation of the brand in Shandong. In this difficult period, he also thought about changing careers.
The reporter recently learned from an interview in Zhengzhou that SAIC Iveco Hongyan’s sales in Henan declined sharply, and Sinotruk’s local sales were not optimistic. Other heavy truck companies’ performance in the local market is similar. It is said that Zhengzhou Sancheng medium and small truck dealers are ready to close or change jobs.
The conflict between distributors and manufacturers emerged
In the sales season, as long as the heavy truck manufacturers can keep up with the production capacity, dealers have cars on hand and they can't sell them. Contradictions among manufacturers are masked by the appearance of hot markets. Once the market is cold, these contradictions are exposed.
According to a domestic heavy truck company marketing department, the company stipulates that dealers should pay a deposit of 10,000 yuan for each car, but some manufacturers can let dealers make payments with zero payments, but the price is relatively higher. The drawbacks of adding a price-cutting car do not appear in the peak sales season, and it will be obvious in the off-season. Nowadays, a large number of dealers have accumulated a backlog of their vehicles, and funds have been put to death and unable to repay. Not only is the dealer's life difficult, heavy-duty truck manufacturers are under great pressure.
Over the years, heavy truck companies have asked local distributors to build 4S stores. Although the truck 4S shop is not as big as a car, it still needs several million yuan. Some weaker dealers in order to obtain high subsidies for manufacturers, at the same time get the local first-level agency rights and higher rebate, raise funds for building stores through loans. This reporter learned that a dealer in Henan Province built a heavy truck 4S shop in the first half of this year. Now the market is sluggish, and the high interest rate on loans has made this dealer overwhelmed.
At the same time, the practice of deducting payments from some heavy truck companies has made distributors and service stations grievous. It is understood that from 2004 onwards, a heavy truck company will inspect the previous year's dealers, service station accessories damaged, lost, and then quarterly deduction of the corresponding payment. As it is the old account, dealers and service stations are difficult to check and can only be deducted by manufacturers. A dealer told the reporter: “Basically, it is deducted a few thousand dollars every quarter. It does not seem to be much, but it has accumulated over 20,000 yuan a year. This production company has hundreds of first-class distribution in the country. Business, one year down is an additional income of more than 20 million yuan. If the sales volume is good, we will not be compared with the manufacturers, but now the market is sluggish, and manufacturers still do so, for us, it is like worse."
Enterprises adjust marketing network and business policies
“Distributors and manufacturers are a community of interests. Maintaining a stable distribution team, protecting the interests of dealers, and helping them through the difficulties are beneficial to the future development of heavy-duty truck manufacturers and dealers. Everyone can hold one group in order to be safe for the winter.†Zhengzhou Road, Henan, China Tao Tao, general manager of the company thinks so.
Pan Kunning said: “The distributors must have the ability to 'keep swimming in winter' and resist cold and physical fitness during the winter. The support of manufacturers is also very important. Manufacturers should create a relaxed environment for dealers to help dealers solve their financial difficulties. Formulate effective policies to avoid vicious competition among distributors."
Not long ago, SAIC Iveco Hongyan Company adjusted 12 sales regions to 10, Zhengzhou and Jinan regions merged, and Changsha Region merged into Chongqing Region. It is understood that the company's business policy has been greatly adjusted this year, and the efforts of dealers will increase. For example, in the form of a physical object, a grant of 3 million yuan will be given to the newly established 4S shop.
The reporter learned from China National Heavy Duty Truck Co., Ltd. that the company does not aim for profit this year, but rather strives to expand its scale and market share. At present, Sinotruk has rectified and adjusted its distribution network. This year, the distribution network will further develop and grow. When investing in building a store, we should not invest blindly. The cost of manufacturers and distributors should be well controlled, and we should try our best to avoid vicious competition with brands in the same city.
Bluesteel Machine Co., Ltd. , http://www.hzformingmachine.com