Proving the old bromide that "many a truth is spoken in jest," Wal-Mart may be fulfilling a prediction made by some of TTAC's erudite readers: selling Chinese cars alongside the toilet plungers and plastic shoes. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott has revealed that the monolithic megastore chain has been talking with automakers about selling gas-electric hybrids and plug-in EVs at Wal-Mart. Lee decline to specify which carmakers are involved, or where they were located. Scott would only say the potential suppliers were "major" companies. He also unveiled a proposal to provide recharge stations for EVs, generating the juice via wind turbines or solar panels or some other politically correct means. Of course, there are logistical challenges, such as getting planning permission for a windmill at your local Wally World, training part-time minimum-wage stock clerks how to sell cars, and figuring out a way for customers to get their shiny new EV through the self-service checkout lane.
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I also believe that Wal-Mart will be the beach head for the Chinese entry into the US vehicle market. $24,888 Rolls Royce knockoffs, anyone?
Further reinforces my nick-name for the chain:
China-Mart.
Unless of course their Chinese rival WuMart gets there first. (Look it up) Hint: originality is not their strong suit, but I digress.
As far as the WalMart hired help selling cars… could they be any worse than today’s car salespeople?
Selling Chinese cars, actually, any lower-priced value car at Walmart would be absolute Genius. Most Walmarts have an automotive center (nationwide service network). Have a salesman or two work out of the garden center areas at each location, have a a couple mechanics and a service writer back at the bays… It sounds doable to me on a large scale for under 700 million… maybe a company could pay Walmart for use of the space.
Maybe Sears could do this too, although I’ve never payed attention to how many Sears there are nationwide or how many of them have automotive service facilities. They could handle the higher end, “Cadillac” China cars.
Alternative fueling stations, selling alternative fueled cars there, not too bad an idea either. That’s just getting complicated, though.
Actually Sears used to sell cars in the early 1900s.
I don’t buy the chinese made crap they sell at Wal-Mart anymore, it always lasted 6 months and then broke. Why would chinese built cars be any different for them? Would you buy a chinese built car there if it was cheap enough?
I only buy stuff I know I’m going to be throwing in the trash there; toilet paper, trash bags, my daughters fish.
RayH:
Maybe Sears could do this too, although I’ve never payed attention to how many Sears there are nationwide or how many of them have automotive service facilities. They could handle the higher end, “Cadillac” China cars
Selling cars would be nothing new for Sears. From 1908-1912 they sold the “Sears Motor Buggy” Model K roadster through their catalog. The car was shipped partially assembled in a wooden crate, and the owner had to put on the wheels, fenders, running boards and lights (if it was ordered with those options). Hemmings Classic Car showed what it was like in their September 2007 edition.
Then, in 1952-53, they sold rebadged Kaiser Henry J’s under the “Allstate” brand. However, because they didn’t accept trade-ins and most stores didn’t keep any in stock (they ordered the cars to the customers’ specs) the concept didn’t go over very well.
Sears used to sell mail order houses too 100 years ago and motorcycles up until about 50 years ago.
I remember reading about the houses Sears sold, and how quite a few are still around the country (I think mainly bungalows, and I think I even watched a tv program about it).
I think at the right pricepoint, cheap, “disposable” cars would sell very well at Walmart, at least in most demographic areas. I read where Yugos would have holes/gaps where the windshield met the car, or radios that wouldn’t go all the way in the radio hole, but people still gobbled them up, initially. Carbon copy a mid-90’s Tercel or perhaps Corolla, add some airbags, and sell them for around 5995, 6995, I think they’d be out the door all day long, as long as they aimed for 3/5 stars in most of the safety test.
I think Walmart would sell Sam Walton’s mother if she were still alive. Walmart is evil. Cheap product lines and their stores create havoc in the neighborhoods they build in. There seems to be an uprising now petitioning building in some suburban areas. Who in their right mind would buy a car from Walmart?
“Who in their right mind would buy a car from Walmart?” Perhaps the Presidential candidate who spent 6 years on their board? More seriously though, this idea might get tried but would be a flop unless the cars could be sold at a price point where trade-ins where not an issue, and I don’t see any sub $5k new electric cars being sold any day soon.
If WalMart wants to get into the car game they should buy CarMax and get into used car retailing in a big way, but I don’t think they would like the profit margins.
In the end, this is an idea which is going nowhere.
Oddly enough, it almost sounds like a deal that could work. Enough people shop there on a weekly or perhaps a daily basis that why not extend the market range into that of the automobile and not just the parts area. The extra parking space alone would make a perfect “showroom”.
jthorner, I never even thought about trade-ins… starts making it really complicated. As far as who in their right mind would buy a car from Walmart, I certainly think at the right pricepoint, there’s a market for it, but not for used cars.
Right out of high school over 11 years ago, I was a new car salesman at a dying nissan/oldsmobile/mitsubishi/gmc dealership, and a sales manager was sniped from us by Autonation, who was about to open a huge car lot. They were expecting to sell 200 cars a month, and it ended up being 30 or less (according to that sales manager who was demoted to a salesman, and came crawling back with his tail between his legs). I think the Autonation went under less than 5 years later, was torn down and became a Home Depot. I remember what was funny, even at our “dying” dealership, our best new car salesman averaged 20 car sales a month (tons of repeat, GM option 1 discounts when the discount still meant something).
Watching business is fun. After WW II Sears expanded like crazy and was a great success for decades. Wards thought we were going to have another depression after WW II, didn’t expand, and died. K-Mart came out with a great new inventory computer system and was a great success for a few decades. Wal-Mart came out with great/viscious ordering and distribution systems and now they are very successful.
If any business wants to succeed they MUST keep thinking about what comes next and then guess that they will get it right.
We don’t trade in washers, TVs, or furniture – we use them up. Why don’t we use up our cars? Even the dimmist bulb knows he looks silly idleing in traffic with a $60,000 Escalade. It may be time for $2,500 cars.
The sort of person who’d buy a car at WalMart isn’t going to have the $7-8k for even a low cost Chery burning a hole in their wallet. Virtually every car would need to be sold on lease or finance and that would expose WalMart to a lot of the people with, ahem, dubious credit that started the current economic implosion.
“Even the dimmist bulb knows he looks silly idleing in traffic with a $60,000 Escalade.”
Not sure that sentiment will get universal agreement on a car enthusiasts forum. We don’t always have control over where we end up idling no matter what we drive.
folkdancer :
Last time I checked, I didn’t see any cars for sale at Sears and K-Mart from a financial standpoint is a good case study in how not to run a business. Let me know how your Walmart car works out for you. As well, let me know how the service department handles your warranty claims and how the “sales team” handles financing options. Meanwhile, I’ll continue looking silly in my $60,000 Escalade as I’m idling past the Walmart.
I don’t even trust WalMart to change my oil. My wife(before we got married) brought her Pontiac there for some oil changes and the filter would be loose and either under filled or over filled with oil. I can’t wait to here the horror stories when they start changing wheel bearing, valve jobs and electrical repairs. GM Goodwrench has a better reputation in my mind and they have stolen thousands of dollars from me.
Redbarchetta: I don’t even trust WalMart to change my oil. My wife(before we got married) brought her Pontiac there for some oil changes and the filter would be loose and either under filled or over filled with oil. I can’t wait to here the horror stories when they start changing wheel bearing, valve jobs and electrical repairs. GM Goodwrench has a better reputation in my mind and they have stolen thousands of dollars from me.
Well, if they sell “electric” cars we won’t have to worry about Wal-Mart changing the oil, loose filters, and the vehicle being under- or over-filled with oil. And we won’t have to worry about valve jobs.
But we do still have to worry about wheel bearings and electrical repairs. Darned!
I forgot they were going to be electric. That might make it worse you can’t just hire people with mechanical knowledge or from existing repair shops, not that they would want to work for the low wage they like to pay.
Everybody has a beef with Wal Mart for one reason or another, when Wal Mart opens a new Super Centre everybody flocks to Wal Mart to save money. Its a total paradox, they say one thing and do another.
The intellectual discussion of what would happen if Wal Mart got in the car business has been going around for years.
They are masters at distribution, like Toyota is masters at assembly, distribution is an area of the automotive business that needs a “shake up”.
Wal Mart would tell the factory what to do, and not vice versa which is the present situation.
As for trade ins, the major auction houses would gladly assist Wal Mart in dealing with trade ins.
Two words… Disposable Cars.