Restrictions on sales of non-local second-hand cars lifted
China will scrap policies limiting sales of non-local second-hand vehicles, which an industry player said is expected to promote a boom in trading of cross-regional second-hand vehicles.
China will extend preferential policies on purchase taxes for new-energy vehicles by another three years, and rescind all local policies that restrict sales of non-local second-hand vehicles, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
Following the announcement, an executive at Uxin Group, a leading second-hand vehicle trading platform, told the Global Times that it will lead to an increase in trading of second-hand vehicles across regions. The executive spoke on the condition on anonymity.
The formation of a large market featuring the free flow of secondhand vehicles across the country is accelerating, which will not only promote the trading efficiency of used vehicles but also boost purchases of new vehicles and help with consumption upgrading, industry insiders said.
In 2008, many provinces and cities announced the restrictions out of consideration for vehicle exhaust emission controls.
The policy seriously limits secondhand vehicle trading because most second-hand vehicle resources are in first- and second-tier cities while there is large demand for such vehicles in third- and fourth-tier cities.
Data from Uxin showed that firstand second-tier cities have around 78 percent of the national second-hand vehicle resources.
Since the beginning of this year, many cities across the country including Taiyuan in North China’s Shanxi Province, Yichang in Central China’s Hubei Province and Hefei in East China’s Anhui Province have announced the removal of the restriction policy.
In 2017, 1,068 second-hand vehicle trading platforms in China sold 12.4 million units, up 19.33 percent year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.