The signal of taking down Autohome is Haier once again proving "not to make cars."

After gaining control of an A-share company a week ago, Haier's mergers and acquisitions have come again.

On the evening of February 20, Haier announced that its subsidiary Cartech Holding Company would acquire 41.91% of Autohome (2518.HK, ATHM.N) shares from the original largest shareholder, China Ping An, with a transaction price reaching 13.058 billion yuan.

Autohome will become the 8th listed company in the Haier system.

Behind this acquisition is Haier's practical action to prove that "it will not manufacture cars."

Previously, although Haier had publicly stated that it would not manufacture cars, the market remained cautious. However, this implementation means that the previous response has truly been realized.

As an automotive vertical platform, Autohome's core positioning is to maintain a neutral and objective stance in conducting automotive evaluation business and providing a communication platform for car users.

After Haier's acquisition of Autohome, if it were to further engage in vehicle manufacturing, Autohome's neutral attribute would undoubtedly be significantly compromised.

In this regard, a person close to Haier Group also emphasized to Xinfeng (ID: TradeWind01) that "it will not manufacture cars," and pointed out that it will "maintain the open and independent operational principles of Autohome."

After gaining control of Autohome, Cartech's used car business may also gain more customer acquisition traffic support. However, Haier's plans go beyond this.

Haier also plans to integrate Cartech's offline store management experience to promote the development of Autohome's offline business.

The automotive aftermarket is welcoming powerful integrators.

Self-Proving "Not Manufacturing Cars"

Recently, Haier's pace of mergers and acquisitions has been accelerating.

On February 17 of this year, Haier's subsidiary Qingdao Haier Kaos Industrial Intelligence Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kaos Industrial Intelligence") gained control of New Times (002527.SZ) through agreement transfer and private placement, with a total transaction amount reaching 2.5 billion yuan.

In less than a week, another subsidiary of Haier, Cartech, officially announced the acquisition of 41.91% of Autohome's shares, with a transaction value of up to 1.8 billion USD, equivalent to approximately 13.058 billion yuan, becoming the controlling shareholder of Autohome.

Autohome is not only the 8th listed company in the Haier system but also the first company in its capital layout to be listed in both the US and Hong Kong.

This is a premium acquisition by the Haier system.

According to the arrangement, Autohome's original largest shareholder, China Ping An's subsidiary Yuncheng Capital, sold a total of 201 million shares to Cartech, corresponding to a price of 64.97 yuan per share, which is a premium of 12.02% compared to the closing price of Autohome's Hong Kong stock market on February 21.

As of the end of 2024, Autohome's diluted earnings per share in the Hong Kong stock market is 3.33 yuan, corresponding to a valuation of 19.51 times based on the acquisition price.

After Haier took over, there were some changes in Autohome's management. The original CEO Wu Tao resigned, and the former senior vice president Yang Song became the successor.

To stabilize the morale, Yang Song stated internally that there would be no layoffs due to this transaction, and it would not affect employees' job stability and compensation benefits, with the company's business operating normally.

Yang Song emphasized that in the future, they will work together with Haier and Ping An to achieve a strategic transformation from an automotive vertical media to an automotive ecosystem platform "This transaction will accelerate Kataychi's construction of a new ecosystem in the automotive industry and improve Haier's digital economy industrial ecosystem layout," Haier pointed out.

Kataychi mainly deals in used cars and currently has over 40 offline stores nationwide; it also provides personalized car customization and core technologies such as charging piles and smart cockpits.

Although Haier clearly stated in 2023 that it would "not manufacture cars," there has been speculation in the market about whether it would enter the complete vehicle manufacturing field through its layout with Kataychi.

Especially after Xiaomi entered the automotive sector, the outside world has been paying attention to whether Haier and other home appliance companies will join the competition in complete vehicles.

In October 2024, Gree established Gree Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., which was seen as a signal that it would enter the complete vehicle manufacturing field in the future;

Earlier, in 2003, Midea entered the commercial vehicle sector by acquiring Yunnan Bus Factory, Yunnan Aerospace Shenzhou Automobile, and Hunan Sanxiang Bus Group, but it ended in failure, and it is currently mainly focused on the automotive parts manufacturing segment.

However, with the recent acquisition of Autohome by Kataychi, it has also sent a clear signal to the outside world: Haier will not participate in complete vehicle manufacturing.

This is related to the special nature of Autohome's business; if Haier participates in complete vehicle competition, the independence of the automotive evaluation media platform will be greatly compromised.

"Evaluation needs to be neutral. If Autohome is controlled by a complete vehicle company, it is equivalent to the role of a referee. 'Being both the referee and the athlete' would make the original business very awkward, so Haier probably won't manufacture cars for a long time in the future," explained an automotive industry investor in Beijing to Xinfeng (ID: TradeWind01).

A person close to Haier Group also agreed with the above analysis and clarified to Xinfeng (ID: TradeWind01) that Haier has no plans to manufacture cars.

"Haier has no plans to manufacture cars in its strategic planning for the automotive industry ecosystem. This strategic partnership with Autohome aims to create the best experience for users throughout the entire lifecycle of automotive scenarios," this person emphasized to Xinfeng (ID: TradeWind01).

Complete vehicles are indeed a red ocean field.

Looking at the entire industry, the profit of the automotive industry in 2024 is 462.3 billion yuan, down 8% year-on-year, with a profit margin of 4.3% during the same period.

To make matters worse, the automotive price war is ongoing.

Public information shows that in February this year, Tesla's Model 3 series launched a limited-time insurance subsidy of 8,000 yuan, a 5-year 0% interest policy, and exclusive charging rights, with a starting price reduced to 227,500 yuan; during the same period, BYD released the "God's Eye" intelligent driving system, beginning to extend high-level intelligent driving functions to the market below 100,000 yuan.

At this moment, if Haier were to join the complete vehicle competition, the environment would clearly no longer be friendly.

Restructuring Traffic Entry

By entering the automotive aftermarket to join the automotive industry chain battle, Haier can avoid direct competition with leading automotive companies, thereby reducing the pressure it faces.

Kataychi is an important move for Haier in the post-automotive market.

Public information shows that Kataychi has four business areas: high-end personalized modification and customization of vehicles, smart charging technology, home-car interconnection technology, and a vertical trading platform for used cars In terms of smart charging, Kataychi's charging stations and related service network have covered 337 prefecture-level cities nationwide.

In addition to independent development, Kataychi has been acquiring more market share through mergers and acquisitions.

In July 2022, Kataychi acquired the world-renowned modification brand Lorinser (China) Company, which is on par with AMG and BRABUS, and is known as one of the three major modification factories for Mercedes-Benz globally, to enhance its high-end personalized modification and customization business.

The used car trading business is the core business of Kataychi.

Kataychi is the first used car operator in the country to focus on a self-operated model, providing services such as online car viewing, intelligent car selection, and customized car sourcing through its online mall, offline direct stores, and a nationwide unified service network, positioning itself for "buying nationwide, selling nationwide" in the used car market.

In this process, Haier's expertise in Internet of Things technology has been effectively utilized.

For example, in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, it established the automotive industry's first "remanufacturing" digital factory, which solves the visualization and traceability issues of used vehicle quality, materials, and services through an industrial Internet platform and the "one car, one code" application.

The used car market has been in a growth trend, but competition is equally fierce.

According to data from the China Automobile Circulation Association, the transaction volume of China's used car market is expected to reach 19.6142 million units in 2024, an increase of 1.2008 million units compared to 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 6.52%, and a cumulative transaction amount of 1.285205 trillion yuan.

However, among the top 100 used car dealers, 49 companies have a gross profit margin of 4%-6%, 29 companies have a margin below 4%, and only 4 companies have a margin above 10%.

To attract customers, many used car platforms are employing various strategies.

For example, Guazi, positioned as a "used car direct sales network," increases market penetration and brand awareness through large-scale advertising, with the slogan "Guazi Used Car Direct Sales Network, no middlemen making the difference" widely circulated.

In this context, after Kataychi's acquisition of Autohome, it may leverage the latter's media platform attributes to become a traffic "tentacle," helping it acquire more C-end users at a low cost.

However, Autohome faces a long-term dilemma, as its traditional advantages are significantly challenged with the rise of mobile platforms.

For instance, Dongchedi, under ByteDance, has leveraged the traffic advantages of Douyin to become a leading evaluation platform in less than eight years.

As of June 2024, QuestMobile data shows that the monthly active user scale of the automotive information industry APP is 143 million.

Among them, Autohome, Yiche, and Dongchedi rank the top three in the industry, with monthly active user scales of 61.66 million, 54.70 million, and 35.70 million, respectively.

In terms of performance, Autohome's fundamentals show little growth, with revenues and net profits in 2024 expected to be 7.04 billion yuan and 1.681 billion yuan, respectively. The three major businesses—media, leads, and online marketing—generated revenues of 1.523 billion yuan, 3.136 billion yuan, and 2.381 billion yuan, respectively, remaining basically flat compared to 2023.

This acquisition may also be a transformation opportunity for Autohome.

Autohome has always had a massive number of car owners and potential car buyers, and with Haier's support, it will continue to strengthen its offline used car stores According to Haier's plan, it will integrate Katayich's online and offline operations, especially advanced store management experience, to fully empower Autohome.

Currently, Autohome has 150 offline stores, mainly distributed in third and fourth-tier markets, providing services for multi-brand aggregation of new energy vehicle sales and used car transactions.

Yang Song pointed out that it will promote Autohome to establish a virtuous cycle of "online + offline."

Overall, Haier's layout in the post-automotive market is becoming more complete. After acquiring Autohome, its four major business segments have effectively gained a new traffic entry, which may bring more imaginative space