Geely Panda will be sold using Internet

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Volvo Car Corp.'s new owner, is the latest marketer, and the first car manufacturer, to launch a regular online presence on Alibaba Corp.'s Taobao Mall, a business-to-consumer online shopping platform that has evolved into an e-commerce superstore. Launched in April 2008 by Alibaba, is 40% owned by Yahoo. Geely, said it will start selling Gleagle Panda model on Taobao starting Dec. 22, 2010. initially through a group-buying system.

Group buys, in which large numbers of consumers team up to negotiate for a better price, have become popular in China. An item must be bought in a minimum quantity or dollar amount, otherwise, the seller will not allow the purchase. Mercedes-Benz used a similar group-buying system for one-off sales promotion to sell 205 cars in China last September.

The Panda is a small car popular among young white-collar office workers. Customers can search for information, place orders, and pay a RMB 288 ($43.23) deposit on the store's website, then go to dealerships to do test drives, pick up cars, and pay the remainder of the purchase price. Geely has plans to offer certain car models exclusively for sale online in the future.

Source: Geely

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