Export volume blowout, average unit price nearly doubled, used cars to sea or foreign trade breakthrough

A China-Europe freight train carrying used cars recently departed from China Railway Tianjin Container Center Station.

The delivery of this train marks the landing of Tianjin's first innovative business of "Used car export + bonded + China-Europe train". At the same time, Hohhot held the launch ceremony of used car export on March 18, and the first batch of about 60 used cars will be exported to many countries in Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

These are the epitome of our country used car accelerating to sea.

In 2022, China's auto exports exceeded 3 million units, overtaking Germany for the first time to become the world's second largest auto exporter. In the automobile export industry, "used cars to go to sea" is increasingly becoming a focus of attention.

China's used car export business started in 2019, but in the years before that, the volume was relatively limited.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued a notice stating that 14 new regions, including Liaoning, Fujian, Henan, Sichuan, Hebei (Shijiazhuang) and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Hohhot), have decided to carry out second-hand car export business.

At the same time, used-car exports are booming.

Nanjing, for example, exported 190 used cars in 2021 and 1,035 used cars in 2022, increasing foreign exchange earnings by more than seven times. Against the overall backdrop of export pressure in 2022, used cars have become a new bright spot in foreign trade business.

"Used car export is full of opportunities," this is the view of many industry insiders. But while the potential is unlimited, the export of used cars also faces many difficulties.

According to the data, since this business was launched nationwide in 2019, by September 2021, only 14,000 used cars were exported, with the amount exceeding 100 million dollars, to 102 countries and regions around the world. It is estimated that the country exports only about 466 used cars a month on average.