In early 2020, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic delivered a huge shock to every industry in China, and the used car sector was no exception. Foot traffic in offline stores plummeted by more than 80%, and the traditional “waiting for customers” business model came to an almost complete halt. But out of the crisis came a wave of innovation — used car dealers began a large-scale shift online, and VR panoramic showroom technology spread rapidly.
In March 2020, the used car trading platform Che300, together with a group of leading dealers, launched the “VR Cloud Auto Market” solution. Dealers could use an ordinary panoramic camera or even a smartphone to capture 360-degree interior and exterior images of vehicles, generating interactive VR viewing links. Consumers at home could enjoy an immersive “get inside the car” experience on their phones, zooming in to inspect paintwork, interior wear, button functions, and more. Within a month, more than 3,000 dealers across the country had activated VR showroom services.
Zhang Hua, owner of a used car dealership named “Smart Choice Auto” in Beijing, recalled: “In February, we had almost zero transactions. Rent and staff salaries were crushing me. In March, we added VR viewing and started live-streaming sales — we sold 21 cars that month, even more than before the pandemic.” Dealers like Zhang who successfully transformed were by no means rare. According to a survey by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), in the second quarter of 2020, used car dealers that carried out online marketing (including VR, live streaming, short videos, etc.) recovered foot traffic and customer inquiries more than three times faster than traditional dealers.
Major platforms accelerated their digital layouts as well. In April 2020, used car platform Youxin announced a comprehensive upgrade of its “National Purchase” service, enabling users to view cars online via VR and video inspection, and to enjoy cross-region logistics and digital vehicle transfer services. Guazi launched a full “contactless car buying” solution covering car selection, inspection, and contract signing — all completed online. By the end of 2020, more than 60% of used car dealers in China’s major cities had VR or video inspection capabilities, and the industry’s level of digitalisation had leapfrogged by an estimated two to three years, forced by the pandemic.
