Xiaomi Youpin, the e-commerce platform of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, has added car sales into its business operational scope, 36Kr reported citing changes on corporate registration information.
When contacted by KrAsia on Wednesday, Xiaomi declined to comment on this matter.
The move by Xiaomi set the company, mostly known for its smartphones, to compete in the same market with others more established platforms such as Tmall and Pinduoduo.
Alibaba’s B2C online marketplace Tmall offers a special auto section that allows customers to book cars from more than 50 brands with an initial deposit. After this, customers can go to an offline sales channel to finish the transaction and get the car.
Shanghai-based Pinduoduo e-commerce platform started to sell vehicles in May, first teaming up with Wuling Hongguang. The platform has developed as one of the preferred online shopping platforms for consumers in China’s low-tier cities.
Currently, the majority of new cars in China are still sold in bricks-and-mortar 4S stores authorized by automakers. Meanwhile, the second-hand car market has gone online, with startups providing e-commerce platforms, such as Chehaoduo growing into a unicorn and Uxin growing into a public company.
36Kr is parent company of KrAsia