Car livestreaming in China has become a numbers game centered on collecting phone numbers, but new rules from the country's largest auto-information platform are threatening to upend that business model. Starting September 1, Dongchedi (also known as the DCD platform) requires users who submit their contact details via livestream cards to verify their phone number with a one-time SMS code, and dealers can no longer manually add WeChat IDs as leads. The change, according to the Chinese outlet Huxiu, has already triggered a wave of resignations among car livestream anchors and exposed the fragility of an industry that measures success by lead volume.
The new policy, outlined in a notice from Judongche—the integrated auto-business platform that combines Dongchedi with Douyin's auto services—means that a user who previously could leave a phone number with a single click must now confirm their intent. For anchors whose performance is judged by the number of leads they generate, the extra step is a major hurdle. One anchor told Huxiu that the cost of acquiring a single lead has jumped from about 70 yuan (about $10) to 500 yuan (about $70) in some sessions, while others report that lead volumes have dropped by 40% to 70% since the rule took effect. A 4S store manager said all four of their anchors quit at the start of September.
Leads were never as real as they seemed
The crackdown comes as the industry grapples with the reality that many so-called leads are not new customers at all. Dongchedi claims to process 810,000 leads daily, but anchors say a single user's contact information is often recorded multiple times across different platforms and dealerships. Li Kai, a car livestream anchor, told Huxiu that he often discovers a lead he worked hard to obtain had already been registered elsewhere. The platform counts it as a new lead, but the dealership does not actually gain a new customer.
Dealerships have long used lead counts as the primary performance metric for anchors, partly because it is easy to calculate. Some brands offer bonuses to stores with strong traffic and lead-generation performance—top stores have received tens of thousands of yuan in rewards. But with the new rules, many anchors are struggling to meet their targets. Yang Le, an anchor for an off-road brand, said the brand has reduced its subsidy for paid traffic from 65% to about 45%, and now requires anchors to keep the cost of each valid lead—defined as a phone number that works and a customer who intends to buy soon—below 65 yuan (about $9). If a store spends 650 yuan (about $92) on a livestream, the anchor must generate at least 10 valid leads to avoid a pay cut. Many of her colleagues are failing to meet this target.
To make up the numbers, some anchors resort to tricks: repeatedly asking viewers if they saw the price list, using suggestive content, or offering small gifts to encourage clicks. Some even trade leads with anchors from other brands, and there are reports of MCN agencies in Zhengzhou that mass-produce leads using standardized scripts and multiple accounts, selling them for anywhere from tens to hundreds of yuan each. These leads may be fake numbers, real numbers from people who only wanted a quote or gift, or real customers whose details have already been recorded elsewhere.
Platforms push for real conversions
The new verification rule is part of a broader shift by Chinese auto platforms toward pay-for-performance models. Dongchedi began piloting a CPS (cost-per-sale) model in Chongqing in 2021 and announced in 2022 that it would switch its dealer membership products to this model from 2023. Rivals Autohome and Yiche are also moving in this direction. But the transition is painful for dealerships already squeezed by falling sales. Autohome's second-quarter results showed its lead-generation service revenue fell 23.5% year-on-year to 560.4 million yuan (about $79 million), which the company attributed to reduced dealer spending amid a shrinking car market.
The new rules are also accelerating turnover in an already volatile profession. Research by Autohome covering more than 660,000 dealership staff from 2023 to 2025 found that the resignation rate for marketing staff reached 66% in the first three quarters of 2025, with sales positions close to 70%. Dealership profitability is poor: only 23.5% of dealers were profitable in 2025, while 55.7% were loss-making, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.
Some investors are not unhappy to see lead volumes drop, according to Qiu Ming, a former regional manager at a luxury brand. If the remaining leads are more likely to convert, stores can spend less on paid traffic. But automakers still expect dealers to maintain online investment, and some brands set minimum ad-spend levels. The deeper problem, as several industry insiders told Huxiu, is that few anchors have the product knowledge and presentation skills to build the trust that converts viewers into buyers. Yang Le recalled a store manager who could explain every screw on a car and easily persuaded viewers to leave their contact details. But such people are rare, and many struggling stores lack the resources to train them.
As the industry adjusts, the reduction in fake leads may not automatically translate into more real ones. The entire chain—from automakers to anchors, from evaluation criteria to content—must change to survive the transition, Huxiu concludes.
