Shanghai-based e-commerce platform Pinduoduo has formed a specific team that will cooperate with automakers to boost sales on the platform, Chinese media outlet The Paper reported on Friday.
The firm debuted its car business in May 2019, and has been hosting promotional campaigns for vehicles since then. The e-commerce website first introduced 200 Wuling Hongguang S1 units, a budget model manufactured by Chinese firm SAIC-GM-Wuling.
Pinduoduo has also offered discounted prices for luxury crossovers such as the Cadillac XT5 model, during a shopping festival on May hosted by the Shanghai government to boost consumption.
Qian Yu, who leads Pinduoduo’s auto team, told the Paper that a total of 3,600 cars have been sold on the platform between May 1 and May 20 of 2020. The firm’s pivot towards automobiles comes at a time when the automobile industry is slowly recovering following the COVID-19 outbreak in China.
In April, a total of 2.07 million automobiles were sold in China, up 43.5% compared with March, and 4.4% more than last year, ending a 21-month decline in sales.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.