The birth and development of automobile Internet

The development of automobile Internet media has always been the individual's own, seldom cooperates. And with the homogenization of competition in recent years began to emerge from the platform nature of the business model.

The beginning of the first year of the new century is the intersection of China's auto industry and internet industry. 11 years later, with the explosive growth of China's auto market, there has been a blossoming of car internet media-from vertical to portal to car channels, from video sites to microblogs and communities to mobile terminals, which are the dominant spenders of car advertisers.

However, if careful inventory, this is only limited to advertising and text delivery of the carrier level, the car media business model for many years is still "old three"-plane and streaming media advertising, automotive evaluation and offline activities.

The industry is a single business model because the integration of the automotive industry and the internet industry is only in the "point to point" content stage. Now every kind of media has its own Internet position, but this kind of pattern is difficult to gather resources and data, it is difficult to carry forward the productivity of the Internet.

However, with the Internet industry "platform" concept of the popular and become the general trend of the automotive Internet media is also facing a major change. Objectively, car manufacturers, distributors and the media in the hills are calling for a platform for the production of resources docking. In this industry change, as the only U.S.-listed Chinese auto industry representatives, the Yi car once again played a pioneer role.

The first and most abundant internet car media in China has recently launched the concept of "car digital marketing platform". It is ready to connect all the automotive Internet media to its own platform and build the data center of Chinese auto Media.

Behind this new idea is the unique cross-border industry ecology of the automotive industry and the internet industry.

Reality and possibility

In the Internet concept of the various segments of the industry, automotive Internet media is the least mountain, the pattern of one of the most clear areas. To easy car nets, auto and Eckar-led vertical web site, the four major portals and the Pacific network of car channels, as well as a large number of unprofessional content on the community, video sites and electric business platform.

For a long time after the birth of car Internet media, their content is very serious industry information. But with the popularity of family cars in China, car evaluation has gradually become the standard content of major media.

Shaojingning, president of easy cars, is a veteran of more than 10 years in the industry, who previously served as chief editor of Sina's Auto channel. He described the above sections as "the first generation of flagship industry information" and "the second generation operation of flagship product characteristics".

Today, for car Internet media, these contents are its B-end (car manufacturers and distributors) and C-end (buyers) customers must "water and air", but because of the properties of automotive products, objectively formed two "strong relationship" plus a "weak link" "Dumbbell paradox."

Buy a new car with 5-8 years after the sale of second-hand cars, this is the B-end and C-end customer process short, the goal of a clear two strong relationship, but also the profit point of the car Internet media. However, since automobiles are durable consumer goods, which creates two strong relationships between 5-8 years, car buyers may never look at the auto media again. In other words, automotive Internet media users are very poor in stickiness.

Based on this, strengthening the middle "weak link" becomes the inevitable goal of the automobile Internet media to turn to the third generation operation mode.

"This will inevitably require the operation of customer data as the core service." Only in this way can customers be retained. "Shaojingning to business value," said: "But if you do not have a good platform to operate, think 5-8 years later to meet with this owner, is basically an impossible thing." ”

Aside from the reality of the dumbbell paradox, Li Bin, Chairman and CEO of Yi Che, pointed out another industry reality to reporters.

The difference between car sales and other sales is that buyers are not trading directly with carmakers, but with dotted car dealerships. This B-end customer and C-end customers are fragmented reality, objectively also need to have a platform to do SEO work. "You go to advertise, but do not choose AdSense and Baidu Alliance but their own website to vote, then you are not too inefficient?" Li Bin's figurative image is direct.

It is based on the above two industry reality problem, it is urgent to need platform to be born. Li Bin and Shaojingning that this is a common aspiration of both ends of B and C.

In addition, the gradual escalation of industry competition, the streaming effect of the non-professional media, is also forcing the birth of this platform,

In recent years, with the growth of China's auto sales and auto manufacturers on the internet media gradually favor the positive, the car Internet media are also gets various projects. The competition between them is getting fiercer. The original media matrix of vehicle network is in a turbulent period.

2009, the original use of easy car backstage distributor data Sohu Auto Channel, began to layout their national car dealer network. Its tight pursuit of the car to the industry to dig for the purpose of the obvious; in October 2011, Sheng Media's auto and car 168 website were integrated, which was repositioned as "home for second-hand cars". Sheng is still expanding its own industry forum and other products.

The above two examples show that the Matthew effect is unavoidable in the trend of homogenization.

According to the latest earnings, Easy Car Network 2011 years of income growth of 46.2%, reached 670 million yuan. Although in the process of easy car network is the "strong stronger" side, but Li bin and Shaojingning has begun to prepare for a rainy day.

"Competition is more and more fierce, the industry is more and more subdivided, this will inevitably produce access platform for data optimization needs." "This is the Internet philosophy that doesn't go around," Shaojingning to the industry reality. ”

The first two meet the C-end consumer demand, new interactive to meet the B-end advertising needs, Isi across a variety of internal and external media, responsible for strengthening the middle of the dumbbell "weak link", and then Low-cost services to more customers.

Although the industry outlook and coping strategies have been clear, but their competitors will be appreciated or even the bill, for Li Bin and Shaojingning is still unknown.

Li bin disclosed to the Economist, Tencent and NetEase have been and take shape the easy vehicle platform to reach cooperation intention. But Sina and Sohu two portal sites seem to still want to rely on their own flow advantages and media advantages to pro-Pro.

"We have previously provided dealer data for major portals. Now Sina and Sohu want to do their own landing, I think the cost is very high. In fact, even if they do it themselves, they can maintain a certain degree of cooperation with our platform. Li bin told business value.

Genes and chips

On the internet, Baidu, Tencent, Taobao and Sina are open platforms. But in the automotive Internet segment, it is true that only one of the easy cars has the banner to open.

In the opinion of Li Bin, this phenomenon is not accidental. In fact, no matter what kind of open platform, it must have two chips at the product level: the core application with high interest rate and multiple product mix. The former guarantees the cash flow and customer channel needed for the platform's normal operation, and the latter implements several interfaces for docking.

Obviously, the flow of the car net and Amoy Car network is easy car product group in the former, and easy to the product line of the rich degree of competitors can not match. In fact, in the more than 10 years of development, easy cars in all car Internet media booth in the largest, cloth most of the son. In addition to the four products, easy car also has a car production by the network and other auxiliary network media, only on the mobile terminal, easy car on the development of Car graphics, Chuxian guide, brand Auto, such as 10 of the balance for the B-end and C-terminal applications.

If the above two chips determine the "can do" and "How to do" problem, then the real cause of the current only easy to do a platform for the situation, is its own industry genes, that is, its industry entry point.

Unlike other media, the biggest advantage of plowing is its dealership and sales network in the 12 years. Yi Che in the country's 117 cities stationed nearly 2000 employees to serve the dealer network. Half of the total number of car dealers across the country is a paid member of the easy cars. Because of this gene, Li Bin is more accustomed to the nature of the car as a car industry company, he thinks it is the foundation, and its internet-based products and ideas, is its own foliage.

It is clear that this part of the heavy assets accumulated over the years is a genetic advantage for the automotive industry, which is the sole vehicle.

In fact, for easy cars, the value of these dealer channels, if only in the easy car network and Amoy Car network internal digestion, there is obviously a waste. And competitors spend huge sums of money to pave the country's dealer service network, there are also waste and risk. In fact, the car became the most suitable explorer for the automotive Network marketing platform.

Starting business in 2000 from doing simple addition, to streamline after the listing, and then to the commercial model of the platform to upgrade, easy to walk a tortuous process but the direction of the right route, it is both a specimen of the Cross-border subdivision industry, but also plays a pioneer.

According to Eric's data, the 2011 Chinese car Advertising market plate is 36 billion yuan, of which the Internet media only 3.2 billion yuan, accounting for the overall share of 10% less than. That figure has reached around 30% in the United States. The mismatch is that 75.9% of Chinese car buyers have access to information on the Internet.

"America's first-income car website AutoTrader, less than 1 million UV a day is equivalent to one of our few, but it's a year revenue but do 1 billion dollars." We have always felt that we had not seen our ceiling. Li bin told business value.