China is the world's largest country in terms of car ownership and consumption.
I bought a new car, where does the old one go?
More and more Chinese second-hand cars are going out of the country and sold all over the world.
Five departments including the Ministry of Commerce recently issued an announcement on matters related to the export of second-hand cars, clarifying the need to carry out second-hand car export business nationwide.
Previously, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Administration of Customs issued the "Notice on Supporting the Development of Used Car Export Business in Areas with Mature Conditions" in 2019.
Ten places including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang (Taizhou), Shandong (Jining), Guangdong, Sichuan (Chengdu), Shaanxi (Xi'an), Qingdao, and Xiamen have become the first domestic regions to carry out second-hand car export business.
In the past five years, China's used car exports have made significant progress, forming a batch of replicable and popularized experience, which has played a role in stabilizing the scale and optimizing structure of foreign trade and upgrading domestic automobile consumption.
Sold to more than 140 countries and regions around the world
China's second-hand car export industry is gradually moving towards scale.
Customs data shows that since the launch of the second-hand car export pilot program in 2019, China’s second-hand car export volume has repeatedly reached new levels.
In 2021, China will export about 15,000 used cars. In 2022, this figure will jump to 69,000 units, a year-on-year increase of more than 350%.
Export models are gradually stabilizing——
A considerable portion of used cars exported from China are new energy vehicles.
Tianjin is one of the first batch of second-hand car export pilot cities in the country. Second-hand car export companies in Tianjin Dongjiang Comprehensive Bonded Zone have explored the export of engineering vehicles, commercial vehicles, traditional energy and new energy passenger vehicles in recent years.
Among them, the export of new energy second-hand cars has become the main business segment of second-hand car export companies due to booming supply and sales, and currently accounts for more than 70% of the second-hand car export models in the bonded zone.
The target market continues to expand——
At the 2023 China Automobile Circulation Industry Annual Conference Second-hand Car Export Forum, Luo Lei, assistant to the president of the China Automobile Circulation Association, said that with the joint efforts of the entire industry, Chinese second-hand cars have been sold to more than 140 countries and regions across the country.
It is reported that China’s second-hand car export target markets are mainly five Central Asian countries, Africa and some Southeast Asian countries.
Since 2022, Russia has become an important market for China’s second-hand car exports.
The person in charge of a second-hand car export company said that since last year, the Russian market has continued to perform well, and the European market has also been activated. Affected by the energy crisis, China's second-hand car exports to Western and Eastern Europe have increased significantly. The second-hand car export market It is gradually extending to Europe.
The export process is more streamlined——
Recently, Henan Jinyou Industrial Co., Ltd. adopted the "advance export declaration + customs transit" model to declare for the export of a batch of second-hand domestic new energy vehicles, which were shipped to the Belarusian market through the China-Europe Express (Zhengzhou) automobile export "green channel."
In order to facilitate the export of second-hand cars in Henan, Zhengzhou Customs promotes online verification of second-hand car export licenses, improves the efficiency of "advance declaration + direct installation at port", and creates a "green channel" for car exports of "China-Europe trains + sea-rail combined transport". Help enterprises achieve seamless integration of logistics, loading and unloading, and supervision, and promote the overall reduction of customs clearance time for automobile exports by more than 50%.
The industrial system is more complete——
In order to better serve the West Asian and Central Asian markets, Tianjin China Yun Cheda International Trading Co., Ltd. has built a second-hand car export front warehouse covering an area of more than 90,000 square meters in Kashgar, Xinjiang. It takes advantage of Kashgar’s location advantages to sell models with good market feedback. Warehousing and display upon early arrival.
According to reports, front-end warehouses can not only shorten logistics time, but also turn "finding cars according to orders" into active sales, improving the initiative and service level of Chinese enterprises.
The company will also build an overseas warehouse for used car exports in Uzbekistan to further leverage overseas markets through "dual warehouse linkage".
The number of motor vehicles in China will reach 435 million in 2023, including 336 million cars.
At the same time, with the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry, Chinese new energy vehicles with good quality and affordable prices are not only popular in the domestic market, but also gain popularity overseas, laying a solid foundation for the export of used cars.
"China's used car exports have great potential." Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told this reporter that China has a large number of cars and is being phased out quickly, so a large number of used cars need new sources.
After several years of pilot projects, China's used car exports have gained certain experience and capabilities and can supply the global market.
Policy support helps the industry enter the fast lane
"China has entered a critical turning point in the replacement of old and new cars." Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, told this reporter that under the background of China's automobile production and sales exceeding 30 million units, second-hand car export business will be carried out nationwide. , on the one hand, it adapts to the current trend of upgrading in the Chinese automobile market, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to meeting the demand for second-hand cars in other countries, especially the countries co-building the "Belt and Road".
Behind the large-scale development of second-hand car exports, there is strong support from policies.
In July 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued "Several Measures to Promote Automobile Consumption", proposing to strengthen policy guidance and services for export tax rebates, and support and encourage the export of second-hand cars that meet relevant quality requirements; in September of the same year, five departments including the Ministry of Commerce The "Announcement on Matters Related to the Export of Used Cars" (Draft for Comment) was issued, stating that the second-hand car export business will be fully supported, the scale of used car exports will be expanded, and the quality of used car exports will be improved.
In order to promote the healthy and orderly development of China's used car exports, the Ministry of Commerce and other five departments issued an announcement on matters related to used car exports on February 5 this year, and issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Export of Used Cars" on February 7. (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), decided to launch second-hand car export business nationwide.
Strictly guarantee quality and safety - the announcement mentioned that circulation companies applying to carry out second-hand car export business must have the ability to identify and evaluate second-hand cars and hire at least three appraisal and evaluation professionals.
According to the "Notice", exported vehicles should comply with the "Export Quality Requirements for Second-hand Passenger Vehicles" or the "Export Quality Requirements for Second-hand Commercial Vehicles and Trailers", and a product testing report shall be issued by a third-party testing agency.
If the export target country has access standards, the export enterprise should also declare that it complies with local standards.
Second-hand car export companies are encouraged to use the "Automobile Maintenance Electronic Health Record System" to query vehicle maintenance records.
Improve international operating capabilities - encourage localities to build second-hand car export bases that integrate display and trading, maintenance and repair, testing and certification, customs declaration and export, warehousing and logistics, financial services and other functions to improve agglomeration efficiency.
Encourage qualified second-hand car export enterprises to set up motor vehicle registration service stations to realize one-stop processing of transfer registration and deregistration of exported second-hand cars.
Improving the level of trade facilitation - When second-hand car export companies registered with the competent commerce department apply to the public security and transportation management department for export registration of second-hand car transfers, they are no longer required to submit the original business license. Instead, they can submit a copy of the business license stamped with the official seal of the unit. The documents, power of attorney and identity certificate of the entrusted person shall be used as the identity certificate of the current motor vehicle owner.
Combined with local realities, the regulatory process should be optimized to improve the level of trade facilitation.
Further strengthen supervision and services - the "Notice" clarifies that all localities must promptly track the export situation in their regions, strengthen the supervision and management of all aspects of second-hand car exports, ensure that the entire process is traceable, and effectively prevent and control various risks.
Establish a local second-hand car export credit evaluation system to guide enterprises to abide by laws and regulations and operate with integrity, strengthen industry self-discipline, standardize competitive behavior, and maintain export order.
Improve after-sales service and create a good reputation
China's used car exports have embarked on a new journey and are also facing new challenges.
There are still problems in terms of industry access, after-sales guarantee, and capital turnover.
"China's own brand cars have not yet gone overseas on a large scale, and service outlets have not yet been fully established, and they are still in the stage of establishing their reputation." Xu Haidong said that as the scale of second-hand car exports continues to expand, if subsequent after-sales maintenance services cannot keep up, it will have an impact. The reputation of China’s independent brands overseas.
It is understood that some used car export companies currently provide after-sales services by establishing overseas warehouses in large cities in major target market countries.
"Establishing overseas warehouses can improve after-sales service problems to a certain extent, but since most of the main exporters of second-hand cars are dealers and export models are diverse, it is difficult for overseas warehouses to provide complete after-sales maintenance services for a variety of models." Xu Haidong said, after-sales service Guarantee is the biggest problem to be solved when exporting second-hand cars.
The "Notice" proposes to guide enterprises to build overseas maintenance service systems through self-construction, resource sharing or multi-channel cooperation, increase overseas after-sales service outlets, and ensure the supply of spare parts through multiple channels.
Support automobile manufacturers to further improve their international marketing networks, give full play to their brand, channel and other advantages, and effectively improve the after-sales maintenance service level of self-produced automobiles overseas.
Encourage qualified enterprises to establish public display and trading centers and overseas warehouses in key markets.
Capital turnover has always been a major bottleneck restricting the export of used cars.
The payment collection cycle for second-hand car exports is generally long, and the capital occupation of enterprises is relatively serious.
In response, the Taxation Bureau of Tianjin Dongjiang Comprehensive Bonded Area has accelerated the tax refund process by shortening the time for acceptance, approval and invoicing to ease the financial pressure on enterprises.
At present, the average processing time for Dongjiang's first- and second-class second-hand car export companies is about 3 working days, and the average processing time for all export companies can also be controlled within 6 working days.
Zhang Jianping said that the export of second-hand cars has many links and complex processes, involving quality control, standard certification, sales channels and other aspects. It requires cooperation from all parties to gradually explore second-hand car export business models suitable for different countries.
The new regulations issued by the five departments will play an important guiding and leading role in this exploration.
"China's used car export is still in its infancy. We can learn from the successful experiences and practices of Japan, South Korea and other countries, and combine it with the characteristics of China's used cars and the policies and regulations of exporting countries to form a better business model." Zhang Jianping said that China's used cars are not only We must "go out" and even more "go in" to establish a good reputation overseas.
Xu Peiyu