经济新闻
京东、美团、阿里巴巴加大进军汽车销售与服务领域的力度 2026-04-13
Chinese e-commerce giants JD.Com, Meituan, and Alibaba Group Holding are stepping up efforts in automotive sales and related services, intensifying competition in the online car retail market, Yicai has learned.
The latest moves highlight a broader push by internet platforms to extend beyond traditional e-commerce into higher-value sectors such as automobiles, where digital traffic, payments, and local services can be integrated despite the challenges of offline-heavy transactions.
On April 11, a search for a project tentatively translated as “Open Departure” on JD.Com’s homepage led to a test page for appointment-based experiences. The page shows that premium electric vehicle brand Deepal and JD Auto jointly launched the initiative, with an internal testing version scheduled to go live today, initially limited to Jinan. JD.Com and Deepal have not disclosed further details but said they do not plan to enter the ride-hailing market.
The initiative has been interpreted as a signal that JD.Com may expand from car sales into mobility-related services. Earlier this year, Meituan also entered the automotive sector. In January, Passion Tech signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Meituan in Shanghai to jointly build a one-stop platform combining car purchasing and usage with local lifestyle services.
Yicai observed that in Shanghai, several automakers, including Tesla, Xpeng, Zeekr, and the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, have launched group-buy test drive offerings on Meituan priced at just CNY0.01 (2 US cents).
Major internet firms have been exploring online car sales for seven years. In November 2020, SAIC Motor formed a new retail partnership with Alibaba, under which Tmall Auto introduced a CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) subsidy program covering brands such as Volkswagen, Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac. Currently, brands including Geely, Chery, Exeed, and SAIC-GM Buick operate flagship stores on Tmall, allowing customers to place orders online and proceed with purchases offline.
Changan Automobile’s Nevo brand recently said it will launch a Q05 Lidar Special Edition in April. The model will be the first “Tmall Selected Good Car” jointly introduced with Tmall and is set to debut at Changan Automobile’s official Tmall flagship store during the Beijing Auto Show.
Despite their strengths in traffic, data, payment systems, and local services, it remains unclear whether internet platforms can establish a fully online transaction model for automobiles, which are typically low-frequency, high-value purchases requiring significant offline interaction. The long-term viability of new business models in this sector remains to be tested.
Source: Yicai Global
