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Parts, accessory exports thriving
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THE Internet might not yet be an ideal place to sell cars yet, but it has proven to be ideal leverage to boost cross-border trade in parts and accessories. That trade is now China’s fourth-biggest retail export industry, according to a recent study by online commerce giant eBay.
Compared with vehicles that have different specifications for different markets, spare parts and accessories are more universal products. Nearly 373 million spare parts have been sold on eBay, versus more than 5 million cars.
In the first half of 2014, vehicle parts and accessories showed the second-biggest sales gain among all eBay categories in China. Those increases were driven by a 57 percent increase in exports to developed countries like the US, Australia, the UK and Germany.
Significant growth was also seen in emerging markets, particularly in Russia, Israel and Brazil. As of June, combined sales to those markets expanded 51 percent on an annual basis, far outpacing the 10.2 percent overall growth of China auto parts exports, according to the China General Administration of Customs.
Sellers of auto parts and accessories online are either manufacturers or traders, with the latter playing a bigger role in export because of a need to run down relatively high inventory levels, eBay said.
While the great connectivity of the Internet is lowering the cost of exploring overseas markets, the one-stop supply chain provided by e-commerce platforms is enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese sellers abroad.
Instead of making deliveries directly from China, exporters can use overseas warehouses to build up local inventories and stay closer to consumers.
“With warehousing services, Chinese sellers not only improve delivery efficiency and sales, but more importantly, they optimize the return and exchange mechanism,” said Zheng Changqing, general manager of eBay China Sales.
“Such improved retail shopping contributes to more business opportunities,” Zheng added.
Thanks to the easier logistics planning that warehousing services enable, more diversified auto parts and accessories are on offer.
In the past, the focus of exports was on lightweight, easily distributed consumables with high repeat purchase rates, such as light bulbs, motorcycle handlebars and rear view mirrors. Now, more sophisticated products like fairings, bodywork, spoilers, wings and grilles are being sought online, lifting the image of Chinese sellers once known only for low prices.
Best-sellers in the eBay Motors category include electronics like GPS and DVD players as well as turbo parts — all high value-added items.
In the future, overseas markets, especially Europe and the US, will continue to be the focus of online trading in the auto parts and accessories segment because those vehicle aftermarkets are much more developed than in China, said Pang Tao, business development director of eBay Parts and Accessories in China.
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