Views: 0 Author: KCVZoe Publish Time: 2025-09-08 Origin: Site
After six years of in-depth development, China's used car industry has set sail for the global market. Since the launch of the used car export pilot program in 2019, the industry has moved from "breaking the ice and testing the waters" to a new stage of "improving quality and expanding capacity". In the past two years, the export volume has increased by nearly 50%, with a network covering more than 160 countries and regions around the world, including Europe, America, the Middle East, and Africa. It has become a new force that is booming in the global circulation system.
The "2025 China Used Car Export Ecosystem Conference" with the theme of "Connecting the World from Guangzhou, Linking the Regions in All Directions" was recently held in Guangzhou. The event was hosted by the China Automobile Dealers Association and jointly organized by Beijing Shenzhou Car Rental Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou State-owned Assets Smart City Service Co., Ltd. At the conference, multiple parties including government, industry, enterprises and research institutions reached a consensus, integrated resources and planned for development. Among them, the most notable event was the establishment of the Used Car Institution Vehicle Source Working Group of the China Automobile Dealers Association's Used Car Export Branch, marking that China's used car export has entered a stage where quantitative change drives qualitative change, and also ushering in the era of long-distance used cars.
Realize the ecological leap from "product export" to "system going global"
Since the pilot program was launched in 2019, China's used car export industry has gone through a crucial period of system improvement and experience accumulation. Under policy guidance, export enterprises have actively explored model innovation, established standardized systems, and expanded global channels, successfully achieving a leap from regional pilot to global layout. Currently, the industry has officially bid farewell to the exploration stage and entered a new phase of large-scale operation, systematic output, and sustainable development. The competitiveness of Chinese used cars in the global market has entered a substantive improvement stage.
Luo Lei, vice president of the China Automobile Dealers Association, believes that long-mileage used cars are the key to opening up the global market, and China has an extremely abundant reserve of such vehicles. With the in-depth development of the automotive market, a large number of high-quality vehicle sources have been accumulated by ride-hailing platforms, leasing companies, financial institutions, etc. These include the batch retirement of operational vehicles by leasing companies, the large-scale iteration of compliant ride-hailing vehicles by ride-hailing platforms, repurchased vehicles by financial institutions, systematically released auction vehicles, and the concentrated withdrawal of test drive vehicles from manufacturers. All these together form a rich source of institutional vehicle sources that can be deeply explored. Therefore, the association will take the lead in promoting the construction of an institutional vehicle source centralized procurement platform. By directly connecting "export enterprises" with "vehicle source institutions", it will significantly reduce the cost of intermediate links and solve the problem of vehicle source integration from the source.
Luo Lei pointed out that to promote the high-quality development of used car exports, it is necessary to build a full-chain ecosystem, completing an ecological leap from "product export" to "system export". This includes coordinating the export of auto parts, establishing an overseas warehouse parts supply chain network covering major markets, and providing output of consumable parts and maintenance kits to fundamentally reduce overseas after-sales costs; linking up with high-quality domestic repair enterprises to go overseas, setting up more service outlets in target markets, and building local service capabilities; strengthening technical empowerment for overseas partners, providing remote diagnosis support and systematic training, and improving terminal service levels; forming a three-in-one ecological closed loop of "vehicle sales - parts supply - service guarantee", comprehensively enhancing the overseas brand credibility of Chinese used cars, and cultivating a sustainable profit growth pole.
He emphasized that China's used car exports are by no means a simple trade activity, but a crucial link in the internationalization process of the automotive industry chain. Only by integrating the entire ecosystem, including vehicle source consolidation, cross-border logistics, financial services, overseas after-sales, and data tracking, can Chinese used cars truly become a golden brand in the global market.
The global calling card of "used cars from China" is getting brighter and brighter
In 2024, China's used car exports surpassed the 400,000 mark, with destinations expanding from traditional markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa to emerging markets in the Middle East, Latin America and parts of Europe. The global reputation of "Chinese used cars" is shining brighter and brighter. Behind these figures lies the release of policy dividends, the enhancement of the industrial chain's capabilities, and the global market's recognition of the "high cost-effectiveness" of Chinese automobiles.
Huang Ruoyu, the president of the Used Car Export Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, introduced that in 2020, the export volume of used cars in China was only 4,300 units. It is expected that by 2025, the export volume of used cars in China will exceed 1 million units. In just six years, the export volume will increase by 232 times. In 2022, the main export market for used cars shifted to the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, while the Greek market also emerged. In 2023, Southeast Asia became the largest market for China's used car exports. In 2024, the national qualification review for used car export enterprises was fully liberalized, and the number of used car export enterprises soared from the initial 47 to 3,000, with the customs clearance cycle also shortened by 40%. This year, over 50% of China's used car exports are sold to the Southeast Asian market, and plug-in hybrid models have seen a rapid growth, with a growth rate of 210%.
As the saying goes, new cars break into the market while used cars stabilize the soil. The best criterion for testing a product is not only to see how many new cars are sold in overseas markets, but also to see if used cars can better integrate into the local market circulation, he said.
As an important player in China's used car export market, since last year, China Auto Rental has gradually established 29 domestic used car central warehouses and 5 port forward warehouses, and set up 6 overseas direct sales offices. It has covered 4,000 real-time available vehicles to over 30 countries in regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, West Africa and Latin America.
Gao Dewu, CEO of China Auto Rental, said that reliable vehicle sources are the foundation of the ecosystem, and transparent information is the bridge of trust. China Auto Rental is committed to building and enhancing the full-chain capabilities of "high-standard vehicle preparation before sale + global logistics during sale + local support after sale", to construct an efficient and reliable cross-border service system for the export of Chinese used cars, including new energy vehicles, and help partners enhance their global competitiveness. The global competitiveness of Chinese used cars needs to shift from "price advantage" to "brand trust". It can be seen that the second half of used car exports is about "selling the ecosystem".
"Only by building a complete ecosystem covering procurement, inspection, logistics and after-sales services, truly breaking down the isolated islands in the industrial chain and forming a synergy, can China's used cars go far and stand firm in the global market," said Gao Dewu.
Opportunities for bulk export of second-hand vehicles to overseas markets have emerged
In the view of Li Jia, vice president of China Auto Rental, sustainable international trade has never been a one-off deal or a high-profit industry. Instead, it is about professionals earning reasonable profits in a healthy and sustainable way.
He proposed that China's used car exports need to overcome three major hurdles - the "professional hurdle, the trust hurdle and the scale hurdle" - to establish an international competitive edge. The professional hurdle means that export enterprises must clearly define the model they choose and the role they play in international trade. The trust hurdle means that they must answer the four most pressing questions of customers - whether there are available vehicles, the condition of the vehicles, whether there is after-sales service and whether they accept payment terms or consignment - and must go through the process of "breaking the ice with overseas sample vehicles - testing the waters with small transactions - building trust through repeat purchases". The scale hurdle means that individual orders are unlikely to make a significant impact, and a trade approach must be adopted to achieve a breakthrough in scale.
Based on over a year of overseas expansion practice by China Auto Rental, Li Jia proposed three key paths: First, take the initiative to "go global" by setting up direct sales networks in six key countries around the world through port forward warehouses, overseas warehouses, and overseas offices, covering more than 30 surrounding countries. Second, integrate resources and establish a "vehicle source working group" in collaboration with He called on vehicle source providers, logistics, after-sales service and other supporting enterprises to work together to promote the export of long-distance used cars from China to a new level through the path of "institutional vehicle sources leading the way, supporting services following up, and trading platforms going overseas". domestic vehicle source providers to share overseas business opportunities and enhance matching efficiency. Third, focus on "standard-like products" and promote the transformation of non-standard used cars to standardization through the "Four Same" strategy, including the same year, same mileage, same condition, and same price, to enhance market trust.
The Used Car Source Working Group of the Used Car Export Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, established at this ecological conference, aims to integrate the vehicle sources of leading domestic used car institutions, systematically expand the overseas business opportunities for batch export of used cars, and jointly build a good reputation for Chinese used cars abroad. It strives to create a quality brand for China's used car exports and become the preferred channel for overseas bulk purchases of Chinese used cars.
Li Jia stated that the purpose of aggregating institutional vehicle sources is to reduce the one-to-one bargaining for each vehicle and try to make used cars into "standard products" to enhance export efficiency. Therefore, member institutions should be capable of selling over 2,000 used cars domestically each year and have the ability to provide more than 200 "four-same" vehicle sources at one time. Member institutions can enjoy the overseas sales opportunities directly provided by the working group and transaction assistance, as well as the sharing of global end-to-end resources after selling the cars, including qualification permits, customs declaration and clearance, logistics insurance, overseas warehouses and terminal delivery, etc. In addition, in terms of after-sales service, the working group will integrate resources and jointly build an overseas after-sales service network with partners from the upstream and downstream of the export industry chain, such as maintenance and extended warranties.
In response to the crucial period for Chinese used cars to enhance their competitiveness in the global market, the Used Car Export Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, through its Working Group on Vehicle Sources for Used Car Institutions, has issued four initiatives to the industry:
First, high quality and low price, quality export. Jointly promote the high-quality, intelligent and large-scale export of China's used cars, allowing global consumers to enjoy the economic dividends and excellent experience brought by the vigorous development of China's automotive industry. Second, standardized products, convenient transactions. Gather domestic leading used car sources, and leverage the standardized advantages of "four-same" car sources. Third, transparent vehicle conditions, honesty as the foundation. Be clear, not conceal or omit the true conditions of the vehicles. Actively connect with the governments, customs, and inspection and certification institutions of destination countries to ensure that the vehicles fully comply with local access policies and technical standards. Fourth, reliable services, sustainable operation. Assemble leading enterprises from all links of China's used car export industry chain to build an export support service system, eliminating the concerns of overseas dealers and consumers regarding the purchase and use of Chinese used cars. We hope to build a good reputation, promote repeat purchases, and resolutely avoid short-term profit-seeking behavior to ensure the long-term sustainable development of the export business.
