Auto industry pulls out stops to tackle slumping sales

Export of used vehicles kicks off

China officially kicked off a program to export used vehicles in May. The landmark program first began in nine cities, including Beijing; Jining and Qingdao in Shandong province, as well as all of Guangdong province.

The Ministry of Commerce said local authorities should select qualified exporters and appoint third-party agencies to test vehicles bound for overseas markets to ensure their safety and quality as well as offer good after-sales services.

The ministry said the potential for used vehicle exports from China is "huge", adding that in most developed markets exports account for roughly 10 percent of used vehicle sales. In countries like the United States, used vehicle sales are usually twice the number of new car sales. In China, however, sales of secondhand cars totaled 13.82 million in 2018, less than half of new vehicle deliveries, according to statistics from the China Automobile Dealers Association.