PARIS (Reuters) – Chinese brand MG Motor will open a second European spare parts center by the end of the first half to meet growing demand for its vehicles on the road and help build customer loyalty in Europe, said to Reuters a spokesperson for the brand of the Chinese car manufacturer SAIC.
MG, whose electric compact MG4 was the 23rd best-selling car in France last year after just a year on the market, already has a central logistics center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which distributes parts spare parts throughout Europe.
“Given the increase in the rolling stock, we are planning to open a parts distribution center in France, allowing faster availability of our parts on French territory,” explained the spokesperson.
This second site in continental Europe will be operated by a partner near Lens, in Hauts-de-France. The amount of investment required has not been communicated.
Faced with historic automobile brands, one of the main challenges for new entrants is to make themselves known and reassure customers about the maintenance of their vehicle.
“After-sales is a major lever for building loyalty, which is why the development of a local network allowing our customers to have their cars serviced was essential,” added the MG Motor spokesperson.
While SAIC is still in the evaluation phase for the establishment of a factory in Europe, MG Motor also intends to continue to expand its dealer network in France. It plans to increase it to 200 this year, from around 160 currently, so that no MG customer is more than 30 minutes from a sales and repair center.
The electric vehicle sector is currently marked by a price war and trade tensions between China and the European Union, the latter having opened an investigation to determine whether Chinese manufacturers benefit from public aid that distorts competition.
BYD, another major Chinese electric car maker, announced in December that it was eyeing Hungary to build its first European vehicle assembly plant, while two sources told Reuters that another Chinese group, Chery Auto , was discussing with the Italian government the possibility of building an assembly plant in Italy.
According to automotive research firm Inovev, with total sales of 230,000 cars last year in Europe, MG accounted for two-thirds of Chinese brand car sales in the European market.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, with Nick Carey in London, edited by Sophie Louet)
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