BEIJING, February 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Lentuo International Inc. (NYSE: LAS) ("Lentuo" or the "Company"), a leading non-state-owned automobile retailer headquartered in Beijing, today announced its strategy for a rapid and comprehensive expansion of its pre-owned car business.
After extensive analysis of the pre-owned car market in China, the Company strongly believes that the time has come for a substantial overhaul of current practices at a time when this market is growing faster than sales of new cars and that the car ownership aspirations of a large number of Chinese consumers require the rapid development of a strong and healthy pre-owned car market nationwide.
The Company intends to quickly build a first-mover advantage through the roll-out of an online-to-offline ("O2O") platform that it intends to implement in the near future, leveraging its extensive technical know-how, loyal customer base, sophisticated equipment, and experienced management team.
Lentuo has held discussions with potential partners for the development and implementation of the O2O platform and its rapid geographical expansion. The Company will make partnership announcements in due time.
On the physical side of the platform, and as a first step, Lentuo announced today that it will convert an existing new car showroom in South Beijing into a fully integrated pre-owned flagship store for mid-to-high end cars that will privilege customer experience, reliability and extensive choice.
Customers will be able to buy certified pre-owned mid-to-high end cars from Lentuo and a number of high-quality third party dealers and transfer ownership title on the spot because of the strategic location of the store in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area ("BDA") which has already developed as a center for car sales. Other services will include trade-ins, financing and repair and maintenance services. The flagship store will be at the center of the BDA, a state-level development zone that includes a large, heavily trafficked office complex with a number of foreign and domestic Fortune 500 companies and an exclusive housing community. The store will benefit from a concentrated high-income population and favorable government policies for firms located within the BDA.
China's current pre-owned car market remains highly fragmented and suffers from quality and reliability issues as well as complex and confusing evaluations and trade-in programs. With a pool of 137 million cars in China, including over 5 million in Beijing, as of December 2013, the Company expects substantial growth in the number of cars available for the pre-owned car market. The Company is well positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity.
Mr. Hetong Guo, Founder and Chairman of Lentuo International commented, "We are very excited about this new business venture that we believe will develop into a strong and sustainable high-margin revenue driver. We are confident that we fully understand the pre-owned car market, that we have correctly assessed its potential and current weaknesses, that we have the required management depth, and that we will attract strong partners that will contribute substantial value and expertise to help us quickly develop a first-mover advantage."
About Lentuo International Inc.
Lentuo is a leading non-state-owned automobile retailer headquartered in Beijing. Lentuo operates 12 franchise dealerships, 10 automobile showrooms, one automobile repair shops and one car leasing company.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Jiangyu Luo
Acting CFO
Lentuo International Inc.
Email: luojiangyu@lentuo.net
Christensen
Mr. Christian Arnell
Telephone: +86-10-5900-1548 in Beijing
Email: carnell@christensenir.com
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004 (U.S.A.)
Email: lbergkamp@christensenir.com
