Chinese drivers favor second-hand vehicles

BEIJING - Used cars are gaining popularity in China, with 6.05 million used vehicles were sold in China in 2014, up 16.3 percent from that in 2013.

In comparison, 6.86 percent growth was recorded in new auto sales, according to data released Thursday by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).

"Second-hand autos will probably record faster growth, with sales expected to reach 11 million units in 2015," said Shen Rong, vice secretary-general of CADA.

China's second-hand auto market began to emerge in 2000, but remained relatively insignificant as increasingly well-off Chinese preferred new cars.

In 2013, second-hand auto sales were more than twice those of new vehicles in the United States and Europe. In China, used auto sales stood at less than one third of new sales.

Shen predicts that rapid growth in new car sales is drawing to an end, and it is inevitable that used auto sales will overtake new ones.

A lack of efficient regulation has hindered the second-hand market as many customers worry about misinformation and the quality of used cars.

Following BMW and Audi, Volvo launched a certification service last month to guarantee the quality of used Volvos. The certification service will cover 30 Chinese cities by 2016.

Buyers believe that certified cars are more reliable, according to a survey by market intelligence provider Sinotrust. Last year, sales of Audi-certified used autos rose by 33.5 percent.

"With exploding auto ownership, China's second-hand vehicle market has great potential and will become a core growth engine to power our business here," Volvo said in a statement.

Shen is also optimistic about the future. "China's second-hand auto market is currently at a primary stage, but will grow," he said.