China's first used car export inspection point in a port area opened on Wednesday at the Haitong Port in Shanghai's Pudong New Area.
Established by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Group Co Ltd, it can provide one-stop motor vehicle registration and port logistics services for used car exporters in Shanghai and neighboring areas, expected to reduce risks and costs associated with the unnecessary transport of exported vehicles and enhancing efficiency.
Zhang Wen, general manager of Shanghai Silverstones Automotive Service Co Ltd, said the establishment of the service center will help to boost China's future export of used cars.
"From the experience of developed countries, a main destination for used cars is to sell them to less developed areas where they can still be useful," said Zhang.
"In the past, Shanghai's used cars were mainly sold to areas such as Shandong, Henan and etc. After 2019, we gradually expanded the market outward. Although we can not yet compare the export volume of developed countries, I believe that with this service center, China can realize one million units of exported used cars in two or three years," Zhang said.
He said there was a great demand for Chinese pure electric cars in Benin, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and many other countries.
"In Ethiopia, it was officially announced last year that only electric vehicles can be imported, not fuel vehicles, so this is a change worth our attention."
In 2019, the nation launched a pilot project for the export of used cars, and their export has gradually become a new growth point for China's foreign trade exports.
On November 4 this year, Shanghai also issued 13 measures to promote the exports of used cars, helping the construction of the domestic trading system in used vehicles and an international export network.
In 2023, the country exported 275,000 used cars, with an export value of US$6.88 billion, according to official data.
