According to a report by Pengpai News, on January 24th, Shanghai Lantu Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Tuhu Car Maintenance Company) filed a lawsuit with the Minhang District People's Court in Shanghai, requesting an order for three defendants, including Beijing Automobile Guangxing Information Technology Co., Ltd. (JD Car Maintenance Company), to compensate 5 million yuan.
It is reported that the reason for the lawsuit is that JD.com's previous promotion of "Zhenhu Price" had an impact on the plaintiff's reputation. Tuhu advocates that the defendant delete the relevant expressions of "Zhenhu Price" from all channels.
It is worth mentioning that on September 26, 2023, the first stock in the automotive aftermarket, Touareg Yangche, officially landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On the same day, Miao Qin, Vice President of JD Group and President of JD Retail Automotive Business Unit, posted a congratulatory message on his friend's listing on social media. He also stated that JD Auto has launched the "Zhenhu Price", and all "Zhenhu Price" products are 5% lower than those of his friend.
Miao Qin said, "JD Car Care promises to adhere to the principles of low prices, quality services, and legitimate success, and will never sacrifice consumer interests for profit." This means that JD Car Care's price war against Tiggo will continue to escalate.
After its listing in September last year, the stock price of Tuhu-W (09690) continued to decline after reaching its highest point since listing at HKD 37.7 in early November. Before and after the New Year in 2024, the stock price fell below the IPO price of HKD 28, and has been hovering at a historical low recently.
On January 24th, as of the afternoon of publication, the stock price of Tiggo was reported at HKD 26.60, an increase of 5.35%, with the latest total market value of HKD 21.9 billion.
UBS's recent research report pointed out that the management of Tiggo mentioned limited threats from new energy vehicles in the short to medium term. The bank stated that due to a weaker than expected environment, the company has lowered its profit forecast from 2023 to 2025 by 5% to 8%.
According to public information, Tuhu Yangche is the largest independent automotive service platform in China. As of June 30, 2023, Tuhu Yangche's store network includes 161 self operated factory stores, 4968 franchised Tuhu Yangche factory stores, and 20013 cooperative stores, covering most prefecture level cities.
There are three different types of Tuhu car maintenance stores, including self operated Tuhu factory stores, franchised Tuhu factory stores, and third-party cooperative stores. Tuhu Yangche stated in its prospectus that joining the Tuhu Workshop store is the company's strategic focus, enabling it to efficiently expand through a light asset model. In the past four years, the proportion of franchise stores in Tiggo Workshop has continued to exceed 90%, and the proportion has continued to expand.
In June 2023, JD Retail established a new JD Automotive Business Unit by integrating all channels of vehicles, automotive products, two wheelers, and car maintenance. The unit was led by Miao Qin, Vice President of JD Group and former Head of JD Retail Life Services, who reported to JD Retail CEO Xin Lijun. "Zhenhu Price" is a low-priced marketing campaign launched by JD Auto, a subsidiary of the automotive business unit.
Source: Du Chuang Finance