SunCar aims to reshape China’s auto insurance and aftermarket services landscape

SunCar is a leading provider of digitalized auto services and auto insurance. I recently interviewed Zaichang Ye, Chief Executive Officer and chairman of SunCar.

How does SunCar’s digital platform intend to disrupt the traditional automotive aftermarket and insurance services industry in China, and what sets it apart from competitors?

The rise of FinTech and Internet insurance products have already begun to disrupt the traditional model of insurance purchasing in China. SunCar has established itself as a leader in the new paradigm, as evidenced by its industry ranking: the company ranks second overall in China’s professional automobile insurance market by auto insurance premiums, and first in total amount of auto insurance premiums generated for electric vehicles. The company has achieved this success based on its unique ability to partner with leading insurers in China and streamline the insurance purchasing process for drivers into an intuitive, fully digital experience.

As the largest passenger vehicle market in the world, China generates tremendous demand for automobile after-sales service. Recognizing this demand, many consumer-facing businesses — banks, airlines, retailers, etc. — have started offering customers after-sales services through external partners in order to maintain customer loyalty and reward repeat business. SunCar collaborates with these enterprise clients to provide the end user with a seamless and differentiated experience. The scale and quality of SunCar’s provider network, the strength of its digital platform, and its ability to provide real-time data processing have made the company a trusted partner. As a result, SunCar has emerged as the industry leader, ranking first in total revenue generated for the enterprise automotive after-sales services market.

As the Chinese automotive market continues to evolve, what are the key challenges SunCar faces in maintaining its leading position in the industry, and how do you plan to address them?

The markets for auto insurance intermediation and after-sales service are still quite fragmented, and we expect to see increasing levels of competition and consolidation in the years to come. We are confident that we will be able to maintain our competitive edge and take advantage of opportunities in this growing industry due to our proven technologies, our client pool and our management team’s experience and expertise.

The same technological advances and increased connectivity that have enabled the rise of SunCar will also allow traditional insurance companies to sell their policies directly to a broader customer base, without using an intermediary. However, we remain confident in the strategic assets we have and the value we provide to our partners and customers. Our hybrid cloud infrastructure supports the demands of both insurance companies as well as end users, and we believe that it will be challenging for competitors to match our platform’s ability to digitize and manage the complex processes and diverse business workflows present within the automotive insurance ecosystem. For insurance purchasers, we deliver AI-powered, real-time price quotes, underwriting information, and payment options for a full spectrum of policy selections from a range of leading insurance providers. 

How does SunCar ensure the quality and reliability of the services provided by its extensive network of partners and affiliates?

In China, the after-sales market is highly fragmented, complex and localized, with non-standard quality specifications. With over 42,000 automotive after-sales service partners, SunCar has the bargaining leverage required to mandate that providers meet strict standards related to service quality, cost efficiency and scheduling flexibility. Beyond the initial selection process of identifying and partnering with the right providers, we maintain our stringent standards through regular trainings, ongoing feedback and frequent site visits. Furthermore, SunCar’s smart order distribution system records driver feedback post-service appointment for provider ratings that are accurate, comprehensive and updated in real time.

Given the importance of customer rewards programs in the Chinese market, how does SunCar continue to innovate and enhance its loyalty offerings to stay ahead of the competition?

SunCar’s enterprise clients — over 1,200 blue chip companies from across China — include banks, telecom companies and other businesses that offer their customers loyalty programs to promote consumer engagement and retention. Members of these programs unlock advanced tier benefits and coupons for SunCar’s automotive services through greater levels of spending and consumption. We work closely with our clients to make sure that our offerings are tailored to the needs of their customers, and our network of external provider partners feature the latest in cutting-edge services and amenities for drivers across China. 

As the automotive industry moves towards electric and autonomous vehicles, how is SunCar preparing to adapt its services and platform to cater to the changing needs of its clients and end users?

SunCar has fully embraced the recent trend of electric and smart vehicles. The EV OEMs usually reach, manage and serve their customers from digital interfaces, often the vehicle app or the car’s smart panels. We work closely with mainstream electric vehicle and smart car panel manufacturers to connect our systems, which are optimized to ensure the user experience is seamless and the service offering is fully digitalized. We believe that such direct connection also allows us to reach end customers faster, which can help enhance our consumer recognition and brand loyalty. Moreover, EV OEMs face demands from their customers for a wide range of insurance products, which SunCar can design and supply in coordination with its insurance partners.

Many EV OEMs adopt a direct sales strategy, which can mean drivers get their new car but find an insufficient service, both in terms of breadth of offerings and geographic coverage. We believe this makes SunCar an ideal partner for EV OEMs, as we offer relevant services throughout the EV life cycle across 42,000 providers. 

What are SunCar’s plans for future growth and expansion, both in China and internationally? Are there any new services, partnerships, or technologies in the pipeline that you can share with us?

We have started making our technologies into a new business line. Our clients look to us for guidance on how to efficiently manage their business, and we have begun to offer our automotive service provider partners with online tools to streamline their business workflows, manage their customer relationships and automate order processing. As our technological capabilities continue to advance in this area, we are working to develop a SaaS model, so that our service partners may also become our technology customers.

---

For the latest news and information on the global automotive aftermarket industry, visit https://aftermarketintel.com. Do you have news? Contact Aftermarket Intel Editor Mark Phillips at mark@lpnewmedia.com. He’s on LinkedIn here.

Is your company exhibiting at an upcoming show? Let us know!