Guidebook for Chinese Used Car Export Country Comparative Guide: Chapter1-3

Development characteristics

CUCE Committee · 2024-05-15

In 2023, the globalization process of China's automobile industry continued to accelerate, with an increasing number of overseas consumers recognizing Chinese automobile brands and accepting Chinese automobile products, which also drove the demand for Chinese used car products in overseas markets. Driven by the rapid development of China's automobile expand overseas, Chinese used car export enterprises have also accelerated their steps to go abroad, continuously strengthening market expansion, continuously innovating business models, which demonstrates vigorous development vitality. At the current stage, the export of used cars of China mainly shows the following characteristics:

(1)     The international competitiveness of China's used car exports continues to improve. In 2023, exports of both new energy used cars and traditional fuel used cars from China progressed hand in hand. On one hand, China is the largest market for new energy vehicles globally, with a rich variety of products, high levels of intelligence,stylish designs, and strong technological appeal. Under the premise of sharing these attributes, new energy used cars have a more prominent price advantage and have won the favor of more overseas consumers. On the other hand, the maturity of China's domestic automobile market continues to increase, and the continuous decrease in new car market prices, driving to a decrease in domestic used car prices. This situation has somewhat improved the issue of China's traditional fuel used cars having higher prices and relatively weaker competitiveness overseas compared to regions like Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, further opening the export market In the future, as the precipitation rate of traditional fuel used cars continues to increase and more new energy used cars enter the replacement cycle, the overseas market competitiveness of China's used car exports will continue to improve, with both traditional fuel used cars and new energy used cars becoming important components of China's used car exports.

(2)     Used car export enterprises accelerate the localization of overseas target markets. With the gradual liberalization and expansion of China's used car export business, the competition intensity of the simple, small-scale, multi-customer overseas agency sales model has significantly intensified. To establish a sustainable and stable overseas market channel and increase the scale of used car exports, Chinese used car export enterprises are actively accelerating overseas layout. By utilizing public overseas warehouses, renting exhibition center booths, establishing (overseas showrooms, creating overseas sales and service outlets, and building their own after-sales service centers, these enterprises are shifting from vehicle exports to localized sales and services, continuously enhancing the market competitiveness and after-sales service capability of China's used car exports.

(3)     Comprehensive service platforms for used car exports are beginning to emerge. With the liberalization of the used car export business, some comprehensive service enterprises, combining their own experience and first-mover advantages, are actively exploring innovations in business models. Through resource integration and capability enhancement, they are exploring the establishment of comprehensive service platforms for used car exports. Focused on used car export supply, supply and demand matching, vehicle affairs processing, maintenance and inspection, logistics and transportation,financial insurance, and other aspects, these platforms provide a comprehensive one-stop service for a wide range of small and medium-sized used car export enterprises,solving the pain points in business development for them.

(4)     The development of the supporting industry chain for used car exports is becoming increasingly complete. As the business of used car exports in China deepens, the upstream and downstream segments of the related industry chain are becoming more specialized and refined, continuously innovating in terms of service content and format around used car exports. For example, establishing platforms for the supply and demand of vehicle sources, setting up vehicle service stations focused on serving used car exports, upgrading the In-Vehicle-Infotainment of exported used cars, providing logistics and warehousing solutions for used car exports, launching customized financial products for used car exports, and offering online marketing and website building services for used car exports.

(5)     The standard system for used car exports is further improved. As the scale of China's used car exports continues to grow and the variety of export vehicles continues to enrich, the used car export industry's demand for vehicle preparation services is increasing. To further regulate the order of used car exports and form a unified,standardized system for used car export preparation, under the guidance of relevant departments, China Auto Information Technology(Tianjin) Co.,Ltd. took the lead in drafting the "Used Car Export Preparation Service Standard"(T/CPQSA 0020—2024)group standard, which was officially implemented on January 10,2024.After the release and implementation of the "Standard", it received a warm response from industry enterprises, actively referred to and implemented in related used car export preparation services. Through standardized operations and processes, the quality of exported used cars is improved, contributing to the creation of a Chinese used car export brand.

(6)     Many localities strongly support the used car export business. As a new format in China's foreign trade development, used car exports play an important role in stabilizing the scale and optimizing the structure of foreign trade, as well as in promoting the upgrade of domestic automobile consumption. In the process of carrying out the used car export business, many localities continuously optimize regulatory processes and enhance the level of trade facilitation. Through hosting used car export forums, organizing used car export training, conducting overseas research and resource docking, building industry exchange platforms, and optimizing and simplifying administrative processes, a variety of measures are taken to support the development of the used car export business.