In brief
AutoMate helps car owners choose suitable garages through clearly priced repair packages and selected providers. In October 2019, it added offers and product pricing after around 7,000 quotations produced a transaction success rate of only about 1%; AI matching remained a longer-term plan requiring more data.
As the saying goes, “Buying a car is easy; maintaining it is hard.” When a car suddenly develops problems, finding a suitable repair garage may be harder than its owner expects, as not everyone has a trusted contact. Chan Tsz King, who had been a car owner for more than two years, developed the AutoMate mobile app to help car owners quickly find suitable garages through service packages with clearly stated prices.
The app initially focused on garage quotations. Car owners could specify the repairs they needed, such as replacing air-conditioning refrigerant or brake linings (Brake Lining, commonly called “brake pads”), and upload photos showing their vehicle’s condition. Garages interested in taking the job could then provide quotations. After choosing a garage, owners could contact it through the app interface and pay online. Once the two parties were successfully matched, AutoMate would collect a percentage of the transaction value as a referral fee, which included PayPal processing fees.
New Version Changes Tack with Offers to Attract Customers
Since its launch in April this year, the app had handled around 7,000 quotations, but only about 1% had resulted in completed transactions through the app. “I originally hoped that at least one in every 10 quotations would lead to a completed transaction.” With the response falling short of expectations, AutoMate founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Chan Tsz King suggested that owners might simply be using it to compare prices, then visiting their usual garages after receiving online quotations. Others might bypass the platform altogether, contact garages privately and leave transactions unconfirmed to avoid the matching referral fee.
In the new version released last Tuesday (the 22nd), Chan changed tack by adding two major features: latest offers and product pricing. For the former, the platform sourced automotive products, such as dashboard cameras commonly known as “car cams”, from suppliers and sold them to car owners at discounted prices. It also arranged for garages to carry out installation once an owner placed an order. The product-pricing service allowed owners to select maintenance services, such as headlight refurbishment or battery replacement, and then book a garage to carry out the work.
Chan’s thinking was that, instead of leaving garages in a passive role, providing quotations only after receiving service requests, they could take the initiative by offering deals and services. The new features allowed owners to choose service packages with clearly stated prices, saving garages time preparing quotations. The platform also carefully selected the garages available for each service, helping novice car owners avoid choosing an unsuitable provider because they were unfamiliar with the market.
Future AI System Could Put an End to Unpredictable Pricing
Addressing the issue of private transactions that bypassed the platform, Chan said it could help owners keep records and systematically track their vehicles’ repair history. If they later sold their cars, they could pass those records to the buyers to help them understand the vehicles’ condition. “They would not need to spend time gathering all their repair receipts. This could encourage owners to complete transactions through the platform.”
The original quotation service would also continue to be improved, for example by adding video uploads so owners could film their vehicles’ condition. In the longer term, the company was considering using artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically match owners with suitable garages and parts and estimate repair costs, replacing the traditional process of preparing individual quotations manually. “Then we could say goodbye to unpredictable pricing.” This would first require enough data, including prices for original and aftermarket parts and repair records for different car models. Chan believed it would be difficult to achieve in the short term.
Hong Kong reportedly had more than 2,000 garages, with around 150 participating in AutoMate at that stage—less than 10% of the total. Chan explained that digital transformation in the garage industry would take time, and the platform also had requirements for participating garages. It did not accept “one-man-band” operators or garages that were difficult to communicate with, fearing that poor service could damage its reputation. “We do not need a huge number of garages. Car owners do not need dozens of quotations; they need to be able to choose the best from a handful of better choices.”
Original article URL: https://bitly.is/2Nm5NP4