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Recently, the news that Tesla’s national unified maintenance price list has been released has attracted widespread attention.On February 25, Yicai reporters saw at several Tesla repair centers in Shanghai that the price lists of commonly used maintenance items for different models have been posted on the store walls.Different from the traditional car dealership’s 4S store model of “one price for one store”, the prices of Tesla’s common maintenance items, spare parts, and electromechanical maintenance remain the same in all Tesla stores across the country.
The reporter noticed that the price of Tesla’s maintenance project, especially the price of spare parts, is lower than that of traditional luxury car companies, but the labor cost of some projects is higher than that of traditional luxury car companies.However, considering that the structure of electric vehicles is simpler than that of fuel vehicles, there are fewer oil and parts that need to be replaced regularly, and the maintenance interval is longer. During the 60,000-kilometer driving mileage cycle commonly used in the industry, Tesla’s maintenance price is still significant. lower than traditional luxury car companies.
“Tesla discloses the national unified maintenance price. The deeper meaning is that it uses the Internet to solve the pain points of users and further break the ecology of the traditional car channel model.” Hu De, general manager of a domestic joint venture brand 4S store Said to the first financial reporter.
On February 23, Tesla announced the national unified maintenance price list and posted it on the walls of maintenance stores nationwide.Maintenance items include replacement of air conditioner desiccant, replacement of brake fluid, battery coolant, cab air filter, replacement of wiper kit, four-wheel alignment, etc.
Due to the different powertrain structures of electric vehicles and fuel vehicles, Tesla’s maintenance items are very different from fuel vehicles. For example, fuel vehicles must be replaced every six months to one year. Oil, filter, and spark plugs need to be replaced after a certain number of kilometers Wait, it doesn’t exist on Tesla models.
For the same project, compared with traditional luxury brands of the same price, the significant difference in Tesla’s maintenance price is that spare parts are cheaper, but labor costs are higher.For example, the material cost of replacing the brake fluid of Tesla Model 3 is 132 yuan, the labor cost is 621.5 yuan, and the total cost is 753.5 yuan.The material cost of replacing the brake fluid of Audi A4L is 164 yuan, the labor cost is 320 yuan, and the total cost is 484 yuan.
In Tesla’s maintenance price list, another prominent feature is the same type of maintenance project. The lower the car price, the higher the cost, especially the labor cost.In traditional luxury car products, material costs and labor costs often rise in proportion to the price of the car. For the same maintenance items, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is usually significantly higher than the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Taking the replacement of brake fluid as an example, the material cost of Model 3 and Model S is 132 yuan, but the labor-hour cost of Model 3 is 621.5 yuan, while the Model S is only 582.3 yuan.Another example is to replace the air conditioner desiccant. The material cost of Model 3 is 580 yuan, the labor cost is 807.8 yuan, and the total cost is 1387.8 yuan.The material cost of replacing the air conditioner desiccant for Model S is 76 yuan, the labor cost is 497.2 yuan, and the total cost is 573.2 yuan.
For this abnormal situation, Tesla’s staff explained that this is due to “different vehicle designs, different procedures and steps to replace the air conditioner desiccant, and different prices.”
According to the Tesla maintenance cost announcement, the project with the highest labor cost is the four-wheel alignment adjustment front toe incline and backward inclination project, of which the Model 3 is priced at the highest 963.3 yuan; followed by the Model X, the price is 652.6 yuan; the cheapest is the Model s, the price is 528.3 yuan.To replace the car key battery and replace the cab air filter, the Model S and Model X models need to charge 31.1 yuan for labor hours, and the Model 3 does not have this service.
A Tesla owner told the first financial reporter that the price of Tesla parts is indeed relatively cheap, but the labor cost is high.
The reporter noticed that although the labor cost seems high, if combined with the maintenance cycle and frequency, according to the industry usually calculated on a 3-year or 60,000-kilometer cycle, Tesla’s maintenance cost is still significantly lower than the same price. luxury brand models.
According to the Tesla maintenance manual, its routine maintenance items include: it is recommended to replace the cabin air filter once a year, tire rotation every 10,000 kilometers, brake fluid testing every two years, and every 1 year in cold weather or winter or 20,000 kilometers to clean and lubricate the brake calipers, and regularly replace the air conditioner desiccant.The last item varies by model, with Model S being replaced every two years, Model X/Y every four years, and Model 3 every six years.
Routine maintenance items for fuel vehicles include: oil change and oil filter every 10,000 kilometers, air filter, air-conditioning filter, and gasoline filter every 20,000 kilometers, spark plug replacement every 30,000 or 40,000 kilometers, and 60,000 kilometers. Replace antifreeze.
According to the maintenance items and maintenance cycle, the maintenance cost of Model 3 in the first year or 20,000 kilometers is 1,108 yuan, the second year or 40,000 kilometers is 2,274 yuan, and the third year or 60,000 kilometers is 1,108 yuan. The sum of maintenance costs for 60,000 kilometers is 4,390 yuan.The maintenance cost of Audi A4L, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series at the same price for 60,000 kilometers is generally between 10,000 and 14,000 yuan, which is equivalent to the maintenance cost of Model 3 driving 120,000 kilometers.
“The structure of electric vehicles is simpler than that of fuel vehicles, and there are fewer oil and accessories that need to be replaced regularly, so maintenance costs will be much less.” Said the after-sales director of a 4S store of a joint venture brand in Shanghai.
In October 2020, after Shanghai introduced a new restriction policy, Zhang Shan sold his two-year-old BMW 3 Series and replaced it with a Tesla Model 3.Zhang Shan’s purchase of the Model 3 was originally just a helpless move, but after buying the car, Zhang Shan had some unexpected surprises.
“The sales service is much better than BMW. When I bought the 3 Series, it cost 15,000 yuan for the mandatory decoration package, and I also charged a handling fee such as licensing. But when I bought the Model 3, I paid 20 yuan to EMS. There is no other handling fee or agency fee for the express license plate. Tesla also delivered the car to the door of my community, so I don’t need to pick up the car myself.” Zhang Shan said to the first financial reporter.
The most fundamental reason why Tesla can bring users a better service experience is that it does not adopt the sales model of traditional car company agents, but adopts a direct sales model. Users are stationed in small experience stores in shopping malls. To experience the product, place an order on the APP, pick up the car at the delivery center or choose to have the car delivered to your door, Tesla replaced the “agent + 4S store” model with directly-operated experience stores, experience centers and delivery centers.
The advantage of the direct sales model is that the price and service are completely controlled by oneself, and there will not be too much difference in price and service level due to “intermediaries”.The new auto retail model pioneered by Tesla has also been imitated by more and more new car manufacturers and traditional car companies.The first financial reporter learned that brands including Volkswagen, Lynk & Co, etc., their smart pure electric vehicles will use the new retail model to sell and provide services.
Li Jinyong, founder and chairman of China Shipping Electric, told reporters that Tesla’s announcement of the national unified maintenance price this time has further broken the after-sales format of the traditional channel model.
“Tesla has announced a unified maintenance price, which is the consistent practice of Internet companies. From the published data, it’s not really how low Tesla’s maintenance price is, it’s basically a normal price, but This figure is very high for luxury brands, especially the repair prices of spare parts for imported high-end cars are inflated.” Li Jinyong told reporters.
According to Tesla’s public information, compared with most luxury brand models at the same price, the cover parts of the domestic Model 3 are made of higher-cost aluminum alloy materials, such as doors, fenders, etc., but the maintenance price is higher than that of luxury brands. The vehicle is lower, mainly due to Tesla’s “direct model”, which makes the price of auto parts and auto repair more transparent.
Li Jinyong told reporters that if a complete vehicle is divided into spare parts, it may be the price of three or four vehicles, which means that the price of spare parts is monopolized by the general agent of foreign brands, and therefore the imported spare parts of China’s high-end cars The price is much higher than that of Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries. Foreign brand agents import parts from Europe and the United States and other countries, and there will be a large price difference for sales in China.
“The average after-sales gross profit margin of 4S stores is around 30% to 40%. In addition to the profits of OEMs and parts suppliers, the price of spare parts in 4S stores is naturally high. And the formation of this ecology, in the final analysis, is still It is caused by the OEM.” Zhang Jun, head of network development of a domestic independent car company, told reporters.
He explained that auto companies are in the middle of the industry chain. They usually have a 6-9 month billing period for purchasing parts from the upstream, while in the downstream, they only need to wholesale the vehicles to the dealers to get the money back. It is to use the time difference between cash inflows and outflows to organize more production and create more profits.In addition to assessing the number of cars picked up by dealers, most car companies will also assess the number of dealers’ sales of after-sales spare parts, including engine oil, to obtain profits other than the complete vehicle.From this perspective, dealers are not only the cash pool of the OEM, but also the profit pool of the OEM.
Although OEMs hope that dealers can put user satisfaction first in accordance with the management system, some dealers will take some practices similar to over-maintenance and over-repair in order to obtain more profits.Especially when the entire industry of 4S stores is in recession, many OEMs simply turn a blind eye when they lack effective supervision capabilities, because if the outlets go bankrupt due to losses, it will bring them greater loss.Zhang Jun said that this is the core reason why there are always consumer complaints in the after-sales service field of auto 4S stores.
Tesla’s direct sales model solves the problem of “middlemen”.The announcement of the national unified maintenance price list is a further step in the transparency of its after-sales prices.
Li Jinyong said that Tesla uses a reasonable maintenance price to please consumers, including the previous move to reduce the price of the whole vehicle, so as to open up the connection with consumers.In his view, as Tesla’s sales increase, the market share of luxury car companies will be hit harder, and they should adjust their business models in a timely manner and reduce the price of spare parts.
“2021 is a very critical year. If Tesla’s monthly sales increase from 20,000 to 30,000 to 40,000, and if the monthly sales of the new domestic top car manufacturers can exceed 10,000, high-end intelligent Cars will seize the market share of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. If traditional luxury car companies do not change the status quo, they will be greatly impacted, both at the level of manufacturers and at the level of dealers.” Li Jinyong said.
On February 9, local time, Tesla said that the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) intends to sue the company, alleging a series of racial discrimination and harassment at its Fremont, California factory between 2015 and 2019. employee misconduct.
Post time: May-18-2022
