With the changing landscape of the global automotive consumer market, China’s used car exports are entering a crucial period of large-scale development.
According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, China’s used car transaction volume is projected to exceed 25 million vehicles by 2025, reaching parity with new car transactions.
Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America have become core export markets. Due to differences in economic levels, policy orientations, and consumption habits, these countries have developed unique vehicle preferences.
Global Market Vehicle Preferences: Precise Positioning is Key. Different markets have varying demands for used cars due to differences in policies, economic levels, and consumer habits.
The region has a relatively low GDP per capita, and Japanese and Korean gasoline-powered vehicles (such as the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra) priced between 30,000 and 50,000 RMB dominate the market.
Meanwhile, Russia, Kazakhstan, and other countries are promoting the adoption of new energy vehicles through subsidy policies, leading to rapid growth in China’s exports of new energy used cars to the region.
Middle East Market: High-end gasoline vehicles dominate. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries have strong demand for mid-to-high-end gasoline vehicles. Models such as Mercedes-Benz G-Class and BMW X5, which are 3-5 years old, are quickly turned over through the “overseas warehouse + local retail” model.
Ethiopia has completely banned the import of gasoline-powered vehicles since 2025, allowing only new energy used cars to enter the country, and reducing tariffs on electric vehicles to 15%.
African consumers have a strong demand for economical gasoline-powered cars priced between 30,000 and 50,000 RMB (such as the Changan CS35 and Chery Tiggo 3).
Vietnam allows the import of left-hand drive vehicles up to 5 years old, with Japanese models such as the Toyota Vios and Honda City being the top choice due to their high resale value.
Myanmar has implemented a zero-tariff policy on Chinese used cars since 2025, but passenger vehicles must be manufactured in 2024 or later, with the strictest age requirements.
Full Process Analysis of Used Car Export: Used car exports involve three main stages: domestic procedures, international transportation, and overseas customs clearance. The complete process is as follows:
(1) Qualification Registration: A prerequisite for export. Enterprises engaged in the export of used cars must first register with the provincial-level commerce department where they are located.
Manufacturing enterprises must be listed in the “Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; distribution enterprises must have a fixed business location, experience in automobile sales or trade, and at least three appraisal professionals.
(2) Domestic Preparation Stage: 10-14 days, laying a solid foundation. • Vehicle acquisition and screening (1-2 days): Confirm whether the vehicle’s age, mileage, and condition meet export standards, paying particular attention to the age restrictions of the target country; • Domestic transfer of ownership and file retrieval (3-4 days): Complete the transfer of ownership from the original owner to the exporting company, and simultaneously apply for vehicle files from the local vehicle management office; • Export qualification processing (5-7 days): Includes applying for the Export License, vehicle export inspection, and customs declaration.
Key points for applying for the Export License: Companies need to log in to the “Ministry of Commerce Business System Unified Platform” and submit materials such as the export contract, a scanned copy of the original Motor Vehicle Registration Certificate, and a third-party testing report. The provincial-level commerce department will complete the review within 3 working days.
(3) Cross-border transportation stage: Depending on the destination, the time varies from 3 to 35 days. • Sea freight (mainstream choice): Southeast Asia route takes approximately 7-10 days, with a total cycle of approximately 20 days; Africa route takes 15-20 days, with a total cycle of approximately 30 days; Europe route takes approximately 35 days.
Land freight (limited to neighboring countries): Neighboring countries take approximately 5 days; Central Asia takes approximately 10 days.
Air freight (emergency choice): Fastest but extremely expensive, reaching major airports worldwide in 3-5 days. Detailed explanation of the FOB process: Clearly defining the boundaries of risk and responsibility. FOB (Free On Board) is one of the most commonly used trade terms for used car exports. The division of responsibility is as follows:
Seller’s Responsibilities (Exporting Company): • Responsible for vehicle acquisition, preparation, and inspection; • Handling all export formalities, including export licenses and customs declarations; • Bearing all costs and risks incurred before the vehicles cross the ship’s rail at the port of shipment; • Transporting the vehicles to the port of shipment and loading them onto the designated vessel within the stipulated time.
Buyer’s Responsibilities (Overseas Customers): • Responsible for chartering and booking shipping space and paying freight; • Arranging vehicle transportation insurance and paying the premium; • Bearing all costs and risks after the vehicle crosses the ship’s rail at the port of shipment; • Handling import customs clearance procedures in the destination country and paying relevant taxes and fees.
Under FOB terms, the exporting company is deemed to have completed delivery upon loading the goods onto the ship at the port of shipment, after which the risk transfers to the buyer. This model helps exporting companies control costs and avoid bearing the risks during sea transport.
Port Delivery Process: Efficient Customs Clearance is Key 1. Key Points for Document Preparation When declaring exports to customs, the following documents should be submitted: export license, packing list, invoice, contract, bill of lading, and power of attorney for customs declaration.
Special Note: The product name should be filled in as “used + vehicle brand + engine displacement + model” (e.g., used Toyota 2000CC sedan).
Customs clearance facilitation measures: Enterprises may choose to declare in paper form or in paperless form. If they declare and release customs in paperless form, they are exempt from submitting paper export license certificates.
The following vehicles are prohibited from export: vehicles that have reached the scrapping standards stipulated in the “Regulations on Mandatory Scrapping Standards for Motor Vehicles”; vehicles that are mortgaged, pledged, or under customs supervision; vehicles obtained through theft, robbery, fraud, or other illegal means; and vehicles that fail inspection.
Facilitating Foreign Exchange Settlement: The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has introduced a series of facilitation policies to promote the optimization and expansion of the pilot program for high-level opening up of cross-border trade, support the net settlement of payments between goods and related transportation, warehousing, maintenance and other expenses, and reduce fund settlement costs.
For example, Guangzhou has made this a key measure to support the construction of an automobile export distribution center. Conclusion: Used car exports represent a vast blue ocean market, but successful navigation requires familiarity with the entire process, understanding of the target market, and grasping policy dividends.
As the internationalization of China’s automotive industry accelerates, mastering the entire chain from vehicle sourcing to overseas delivery will become a core competitive advantage for used car export companies.
In the future, with the continuous improvement of China’s used car export system, more companies will be able to leverage this trend to expand into international markets and share the benefits of cross-border automobile trade.
