A visitor inspects an imported car at the first International Auto E-Commerce Summit in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The first step is that buyers can make an upfront payment online or use Alipay machines near the point of sale to purchase a car conveniently and without cash by simply swiping their bankcards.

Raymond Wang, principal of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In the long run, customers will not have to go to the showroom at all, but pay the full price online.

This would also be a win for the online dealer: Customers leave behind a valuable data footprint that provides information about the effectiveness of marketing activities.

Pioneers guide the way

Some automakers, such as Geely, Guangqi Honda and Chevrolet, have started to promote selected models via their own e-commerce platforms.

VW and BMW are also well aware of the opportunities and are teaming up with e-commerce platforms, such as Tmall or Bitauto, to promote selected models.

But activities are still far from being fully integrated. Fundamental i

ssues such as the low transaction conversion rate and the challenge of incorporating online sales into daily operations have not yet been resolved.

Managing such large inventories and offering aftermarket services are also virgin territory for e-commerce platforms.

Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that an automobiles today seem too complex to be priced and sold online in the same way as consumer goods like books or DVDs.

In the coming stages of development, automotive manufacturers will need to know how to address consumers directly, try to leverage online and mobile platforms and establish direct B2C channels to reach the customer directly.

These activities enhance the customer experience, enable community-building and improve the exchange of information over the complete product lifecycle.

Key success factors

There is still no clear conclusion as to which kind of automotive e-commerce model will dominate in the future, but we can see some characteristics must be considered for the future winner.