The evaluation of car dealerships in the past is that they have first-class earning ability and even car companies are envious of the ease of profitability.

　　However, in the surging tide of the times, car dealerships are facing unprecedented challenges, even falling to a point where they are difficult to sustain, such as large groups.

　　The first quarter report of Pangda Group shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved a total operating revenue of 5.556 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.96%; The net profit attributable to the parent company suffered a loss of 123 million yuan, compared to a loss of 91.2258 million yuan in the same period last year.

　　Starting from May 5th, the delisting risk warning for the shares of Pangda Group was implemented, and the stock abbreviation was also changed from "Pangda Group" to "ST Pangda".

　　At its peak, Pangda Group ranked first on the list of Chinese automobile dealerships, with over 1400 4S stores, covering popular brands such as Mercedes Benz, Lexus, and Toyota. It is known as the "number one automobile dealer" and the "king of 4S stores".

　　However, the peak is often followed by a downhill road. We will not mention the long years. In 2019, the huge group that was caught in huge losses was insolvency and applied for reorganization. Huang Jihong succeeded the founder Pang Qinghua and became the actual controller of the company.

　　However, after the completion of the restructuring, the vast area remains deeply mired in quagmire. From 2020 to 2022, the giant group continued to sell its sons, frequently selling assets, and gradually laying off employees and closing stores, but the crisis has not yet been resolved.

　　In terms of the number of business outlets, the Giant Group has sharply decreased from over 400 in 2019 to over 200 in 2022, compared to over 1000 during its peak period, which is regrettable.

　　It is worth mentioning that in the early and middle stages of Pang Qinghua's leadership, the Giant Group coincided with the rapid development of the Chinese fuel vehicle market. As a "bridge" between car companies and consumers, 4S stores have a lot of fuel to extract from the early sales of new cars, decoration, and later repairs and maintenance, so they have made a lot of money.

　　After the restructuring of the Giant Group, 2020-2022 was a three year period of rapid decline in the automotive dealer industry. The overall environment "tormented" not only Giant, but also more automotive dealer giants and countless previously glorious 4S stores.

　　According to the 2022 National Automobile Dealers Survival Survey Report released by the China Automobile Distribution Association, only 29.7% of dealerships achieved profitability last year, with less than 20% of dealerships achieving sales targets.

　　From the revenue situation of the automobile dealer group in 2022, nine of the top ten companies had negative net profits year-on-year, even the two major dealer giants Zhongsheng Group and Guanghui Group were not spared.

　　One piece of data is extremely cruel: in 2022, there were 3738 new 4S stores nationwide, but as many as 1757 4S stores were withdrawn from the network, including independent brands such as Weimar and SAIC MAXUS, joint venture brands such as Korean and French brands, as well as luxury brands such as Acura and Infiniti.

　　In recent years, we have seen too many reports about "empty 4S stores". For example, at the end of last year, a SAIC Volkswagen 4S store in Nanchang, Jiangxi suddenly "disappeared", with nearly 100000 yuan of vouchers for multiple car owners turned into waste paper. The property management stated that the 4S store still owes rent, water and electricity.

　　Similar events are also happening at the moment. Not long ago, a Haval 4S store in Nanjing closed without warning and ran away, not only causing the owner's new car to be unable to go on the road, but also several employees complained of being delayed for several months' wages.

　　While most people are concerned about the boss running away and car owners defending their rights, many also see the essence: the survival pressure of 4S stores has become enormous in recent years.

　　A friend who works at a luxury brand 4S store told Cylinder Brother that due to the impact of the previous pandemic and the current popularity of electric cars, the store's business has deteriorated. Not only have some sales been laid off, but the base salary of the remaining personnel has also been greatly reduced. The pressure on performance is so great that they want to resign.

　　He also said that nowadays people tend to buy electric cars, but electric cars are not like gasoline cars, which can bring considerable after-sales profits. 4S stores just want to earn more money from electric cars, but they cannot find space.

　　In fact, the difficulties of 4S stores are already closely related to the "gameplay" of this industry, where profits vary with the sales and prices of new cars. Once encountering setbacks and their own cash flow and turnover rate fail to withstand the challenge, they may lose everything.

　　In summary, the era of "lying down and earning" for car dealer groups and 4S stores has come to an end. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be more "giant groups" falling in the future.

　　Undoubtedly, new energy and intelligence are redefining the entire automotive industry, and the game between traditional distribution and direct sales models precisely reflects this.

　　In recent years, Tesla and domestic new power car companies have taken on a trend of "direct sales". As mentioned earlier, 4S stores are the "bridge" between car companies and users, and under direct sales mode, the bridge is dismantled, allowing car companies to have access to first-hand information from users, achieving a "closed loop" of data.

　　In this way, the benefit is that car companies can more conveniently achieve brand building, price control, and management services. For consumers, they can also obtain a more direct, efficient, and transparent car purchasing experience.

　　Driven by new power car companies, some traditional car companies have also started to follow the direct sales model. Even if giants like BYD support the traditional distribution model, the status of the distribution model has been greatly reduced, which is a fact.

　　Especially in the past few years, car dealerships have continuously exposed negative news, and the image of 4S stores in consumers' minds has greatly declined. The old generation thinks 4S stores are "vampires", while the new generation prefers simple and efficient direct sales models.

　　Although the traditional distribution model is not entirely useless, various signs indicate that 4S stores have indeed fallen out of favor in the new energy era, and their solid foundation has become loose. It may only be a matter of time before they are "uprooted".

　　The losses of the automobile dealer group and the withdrawal of 4S stores are all ringing the alarm for the industry. If the traditional distribution model cannot produce "new things" and does not transform and transform quickly in response to the trend of new energy, it will only decline year by year.

　　However, many traditional car companies have not yet completed the transition, and how easy is it to achieve the transformation of traditional distribution models?