Changan's Colombian distributor Com Automotriz has been conducting a series of outdoor road shows and indoor displays in major cites like Bogota, Cali, Barranquilla, and Pereira.  This initiative has been implemented to boost momentum in a difficult market, increase sales, move inventory, and raise brand awareness.  As of now, we've collected information from 228 customers.  We've also secured 31 orders.

This road show takes place on major streets, in parking lots, and at mall entrances.  Changan cars are placed at these locations to raise brand awareness.  Salespeople distribute flyers and small gifts to interested visitors.  Through this method, a lot of information is disseminated at a low cost. 

The current Colombian exchange rate, regulations, and laws present challenges to Chinese auto brands.  During the first quarter, Chinese brand vehicle registrations declined 52% compared to Q1 2015.  Chinese brand market share spiraled downward to 3.7% -- the lowest in 10 years. But the Changan team didn't give up.  We quickly shifted our focus from passenger vehicles to commercial vehicles.  At the same time, we began the road show initiative while actively developing new customer relations.  From January to May, 201 units were sold - a decline of only 8% compared to sales in the same period in 2015.

So far this year, our distributor has made a made a series of adjustments to respond to market conditions.  These include shifting focus from passenger to commercial vehicles, and holding lower cost road shows rather than expensive launch ceremonies and public relations campaigns.  After two years' research and trial, the management team gradually became expert at selling commercial vehicles by embracing the convenience of door-to door, onsite promotion to save customers time. They also chose the practicality of going with small-scale, high frequency road shows instead of presenting costly, high-end press conferences, launch ceremonies, and PR campaigns.  Our distributor benefits from the increased information reach.  In the future, we will further improve our business model to yield even better results.

 15 June 2016