Carmakers using other companies' showrooms

Carmakers are partnering with home appliance makers and consumer electronics companies to sell cars through their vast brick-and-mortar dealership networks. In April, Chinese new energy vehicle startup Skywell bought home appliance maker Skyworth's trademark for vehicles. Roy Lu, a senior industry analyst, said using the existing retail stores of such companies is an easier and cheaper way for carmakers to reach potential customers in smaller cities than extending their own dealership networks. Lu said home appliance buyers are car companies' potential customers, and carmakers are trying to market vehicles as ordinary consumer goods that should be updated in a shorter period of time. Last month, another home appliance maker Midea Group revealed plans to produce a range of components and control systems for cars at a plant in Hefei, Anhui province.