CCTV's flagship evening news program "Xinwen Lianbo" on August 10 focused on the current state of the automotive aftermarket, highlighting the rapidly expanding new energy vehicle service sector. TUHU-W (09690) was featured as a representative company in the report. Earlier, on July 31, CCTV's "Zhaowen Tianxia" also aired a special feature on the same subject. The sustained media attention on TUHU-W underscores the transformation and upgrade trends within China's automotive aftermarket, driven by the growth of new energy vehicles.
As the number of new energy vehicles in China continues to rise, consumer demand for professional maintenance, interior modifications, and light customization is experiencing rapid growth. Centered on the entire vehicle lifecycle, the industry has spawned diverse business segments, including repair and maintenance, modification upgrades, RV camping, financial insurance, and motorsports. This has also created a host of new professional roles.
In the August 10 report on "Xinwen Lianbo," the head of TUHU-W's new energy vehicle business noted that the company's demand for labor this year has increased by 50% compared to the same period last year. Demand is particularly strong for over a dozen new job types, including power battery maintenance engineers, battery recycling assessors, and charging station operations engineers. Wang Du, Vice President of the China Automobile Dealers Association, stated that while the industry previously lacked large-scale standardized services, these new roles now require highly specialized skills, leaving the sector facing a talent gap of over one million people.
The surge in demand is already evident in physical stores. The two TUHU-W workshops featured in CCTV's July 31 report, located in Beijing's Daxing district and Suzhou's Zhenze area, serve as microcosms of the industry trend. The Beijing store's beauty service bays are frequently operating at full capacity, with orders for new energy vehicle detailing and light customization rising 25% year-on-year since July. At the county-level Suzhou store, new energy vehicle maintenance bays, equipped with insulated floor coverings, have become a standard feature.
Addressing the million-person talent gap, in addition to adjustments in academic programs, corporate training is also critical. TUHU-W has established a comprehensive training system for new energy vehicle technicians through its TUHU Automotive Academy. This system combines online theoretical courses with practical, hands-on training in physical stores, helping traditional auto repair technicians upgrade their skills and acquire new energy vehicle maintenance capabilities. To date, over 4,000 technicians have completed specialized new energy training, and more than 1,200 have obtained low-voltage electrical certifications.
In June, nine government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, issued a notice outlining multiple measures to cultivate and expand the automotive aftermarket consumer base, accelerating the release of a trillion-yuan market dividend. Industry experts predict that the automotive aftermarket has entered a new phase where stock competition and standardized development coexist. In the future, leading platforms with business models aligned with policy directions, along with standardized systems and a pool of specialized talent, will continue to dominate the market, propelling the automotive aftermarket into a new stage of high-quality development.