With the growing international recognition of Chinese brands in the past few years, China’s used car export business is growing rapidly. When China first officially launched its used car export business in 2019, dealers had to work hard to attract buyers. They had to send mass emails and set up attractive websites to attract overseas customers. But with the growing international recognition of Chinese brands and partly booming sales of electric vehicles in both the domestic and foreign markets in the past few years, Chinese dealers are now seeing an increase in demand from foreign customers for second-hand cars.
China’s Used Car Export Business Growth:
China began exporting used cars in 2019 to encourage the modernization of local automobile demand. In 30 provincial-level locations across China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangdong Province, the Chinese government has so far encouraged the development of the used automobile export industry. Similarly, the percentage of used electric vehicles is also increasing year-on-year as the volume of used car exports is increasing.
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM):
Many foreign consumers have raised their desire for secondhand automobiles built in China as a result of Chinese companies’ extensive investment in offline and online marketing campaigns abroad. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the popularity of Chinese automakers began to rise in 2021, when their exports of 2.01 million vehicles, more than double the amount from the previous year, totaled (CAAM).
China’s exports of used automobiles are moving quickly, and their values have risen significantly. This is due to favorable government policies, an increase in dealers, and strong new car exports in recent years. In the first half of 2022, China exported more than 16,000 old cars, up from 15,123 the previous year. The average cost of these vehicles jumped from $4,895 in 2019 to almost $15,000 in 2021.
According to Tang Wei, a representative of Taizhou Customs, in the first seven months of 2022, dealers in Taizhou shipped 5,631 used automobiles for 860 million yuan ($123.49 million) to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. This was more than the 3,800 automobiles that Taizhou’s dealers exported in 2021.
Deputy Secretary-General of China Automobile Dealers Association:
According to Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, exports of used cars should be encouraged to grow alongside exports of new cars due to the distinctions between the domestic and international markets. This should be done in conjunction with the development of a strong after-sales service platform and trustworthy foreign outsourcing service providers. He suggested that it might be practical for domestic businesses to export used vehicles to nations where Chinese automakers have already established similar servicing infrastructure.
