Many Relatively New Used Cars on the Market, Government Summons Manufacturers

KatadataOTO – China's Ministry of Commerce will meet with vehicle companies including BYD to discuss the widespread sale of used cars that have never been driven. This step is being taken because the government needs to get a clearer view of the situation.

This phenomenon emerged after Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motor, gave an interview to a media outlet. He revealed that in China, there are many "like-new" used units being sold on the market.

The abundance of these used vehicles is caused by years of industry trade wars. In this phenomenon, a number of units are already registered and have license plates, thus being considered sold.

However, the units were never driven by their first owners and were eventually sold on the used car market. There are thousands of dealers offering them on sales platforms.

Photo : Courtesy

Reporting from Reuters, this move is a tactic by manufacturers and dealers to support their new car sales in order to reach targets.

In the meeting, China's Ministry of Commerce will also invite several other parties, including the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), and used vehicle traders.

Car Sales in China

China is still the country with the largest car sales in the world. Impressively, the total even reached 31.436 million units. The number is up 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

Of that figure, New Energy Vehicles or NEVs are among the most sought-after models. Of the total units sold, 40.9 percent came from this segment.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Of all NEV sales, 60 percent are EVs. Meanwhile, the PHEV market accounts for about 40 percent.

Sales are also believed to increase again in 2025. This is because in the first quarter, at least 6.4 million vehicle units were successfully delivered to the market.

This number is up 12.9 percent compared to the same period last year. If they can maintain this, it is not impossible that sales will become even larger.