Second hand cars face a new trend in going global

At present, China's second-hand car exports are in a golden period of policy dividends and market explosion. With a car ownership of over 400 million units, a mature supply chain system, and cost-effective vehicle selection, it provides a solid foundation for China's second-hand car exports, "said Luo Lei, Vice President of the China Association of Automobile Dealers, at the recently held 2025 China Second hand Car Export Ecology Conference.

Data shows that by 2024, the export volume of second-hand cars in China has exceeded 400000 units, exporting to more than 160 countries and regions, becoming an emerging force driving automobile consumption and promoting industrial upgrading. At the same time, China's second-hand car exports urgently need to establish a collaborative development pattern guided by the government, empowered by enterprises and associations, to break through overseas market barriers with standardized and international service systems, and form a more competitive global second-hand car circulation network.

Shenzhou Car Rental CEO Gao Dewu stated that the global automobile circulation system is accelerating its changes, reliable vehicle sources are the cornerstone of the ecosystem, and transparent information is the bridge of trust. The second half of second-hand car exports is not simply about selling vehicles, but about 'selling ecology'.

Huang Ruoyu, President of the Used Car Export Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, stated that China's dual output of "technology+production capacity" has accelerated the global automobile trade process, and this trend is irreversible. With its triple crown in production, sales, and exports, as well as a global export volume of 6.4 million, China is reshaping its trade flow and building the cornerstone of its market structure. On this basis, Chinese car companies are deeply cultivating the global market with differentiation strategies. The Middle East market focuses on "reliability of fuel vehicles", the Central European market focuses on "infrastructure adaptation for electric vehicles", the Latin American market strengthens its "high cost-effectiveness advantage", and the layout strategy of advancing three fronts. They are continuously expanding the penetration and discourse power of Chinese cars in the global market, bringing new opportunities to the second-hand car market.

Li Jia, Vice President of Shenzhou Car Rental, believes that China's second-hand car exports need to cross the three major barriers of "professionalism, trust, and scale" to establish an international competitive advantage. Based on the overseas practice of Shenzhou Car Rental, he proposed three key paths: firstly, actively "going global" by laying out direct sales networks in six key countries through port warehouses, overseas warehouses, overseas offices, etc., covering more than 30 surrounding countries and regions; The second is to integrate resources, establish a "Vehicle Source Working Group" with domestic institutions to share overseas business opportunities and improve matching efficiency; The third is to focus on "standardized products" and promote the transformation of non-standard second-hand cars towards standardization through the "four same" strategy of the same year, mileage, condition, and price, enhancing market trust.

It is necessary for supporting enterprises such as institutional vehicle sources, logistics, and after-sales to work together to promote the export of second-hand cars to a new level through the path of 'institutional vehicle sources opening the way, supporting service follow-up, and trading platforms going global', "said Li Jia.

As one of the core achievements of the 2025 China Second hand Car Export Ecology Conference, the Second hand Car Agency Car Source Export Working Group, jointly led by the China Automobile Dealers Association and Shenzhou Car Rental, has officially launched, marking a new stage of "ecological, standardized, and branded" development for China's second-hand car exports.

As a member organization under the Second hand Car Export Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, the first batch of members of this working group includes 23 OEMs, 7 financial leasing institutions, 5 leasing and travel enterprises, and 3 dealers, covering the entire chain from vehicle supply, financial services to circulation services. It will become one of the most representative industrial collaboration platforms in the current domestic second-hand car export field. It is reported that the core goal of the working group is to integrate scattered institutional car sources, technology, and channel resources into a "single network", shifting the export of second-hand cars from "fighting on their own" to "going global together", jointly building the overseas reputation of Chinese second-hand cars, and becoming the preferred channel for overseas bulk procurement.

Guangdong is one of the provinces with the largest number of automobiles in China. Yan Fei, President of Guangdong Automobile Circulation Association, stated that relying on the market foundation, Guangdong is promoting the acceleration of second-hand car exports through policy support and service optimization. In the first seven months of this year, Guangdong exported 46000 second-hand cars, exceeding last year's total. Zhao Zhe, Vice President of Shenzhou Car Rental Company, said that as the largest car rental enterprise in China, Shenzhou Car Rental has built a full chain ecosystem of "buy, rent, repair, and sell", covering new car procurement, rental services, self owned maintenance system, and domestic and foreign second-hand car layout.

According to Xu Changming, Senior Economist at the National Information Center, the core driving force behind the current global growth in automotive demand is accelerating from developed countries to emerging markets. China's domestic brand cars have shown strong market performance in regions such as Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and ASEAN, with new energy vehicles accounting for over 50% of the market share in emerging markets. Although facing challenges such as EU barriers in the future, with the improvement of the competitiveness of domestic brands, localized production, and improved services, the prospects for China's automobile industry to go global are vast.