
What's wrong with us: cars that the Chinese don't need are being transported to Russia

An impressive number of passenger cars have accumulated on the Chinese market, which are sold as used, but have not traveled even a kilometer. This situation was caused by the desire of automakers to "draw" sales figures in the absence of real demand. Some of these machines have already begun to be supplied to the Russian market. Izvestia investigated the dangers of buying such a car.
Create the illusion of high sales
The chairman of the Board of Directors of Great Wall Motors, Wei Jianjun, spoke about the "strange" phenomenon of used cars without mileage in an interview with Sina Finance. According to him, there are from three to four thousand dealers selling such cars on large used car sales platforms like DoCar, Guazi and Xianyu. Legally, these vehicles are considered "used", but their actual mileage is extremely low or even zero.
Wei Jianjun said that in this way car companies deliberately create the illusion of high sales, and did not fail to take a look at his main competitor, the Chinese company BYD, which significantly surpasses Great Wall Motors in terms of sales.
"Now the automotive industry also has Evergrande," he said, hinting that the automaker could share the sad fate of China's largest developer. Indeed, BYD has a high debt burden, with total liabilities reaching 584.7 billion yuan in 2024. Despite the company's impressive sales figures, its inventory of 116 billion yuan also ranked first in the industry.
Still gathering dust in the warehouse
Despite China's automotive industry reaching new highs in 2024, with car production and sales exceeding 31 million units, profitability has declined. In particular, due to price wars between companies.
To achieve high sales figures, manufacturers put pressure on dealers to increase their car inventories. In order to fulfill the set plan, quickly return the funds and receive a discount from the manufacturer, they get rid of the "stale goods" as follows.
A source involved in car sales in China told Autohome that dealers usually register new cars themselves and then sell them to used car sellers. That is, cars get into the sales statistics, but in fact they are still gathering dust in the warehouse.
And sellers of used cars can take advantage of the government subsidy program and offer the buyer an almost new car, but at a significantly lower price.
The scale is astounding
Therefore, such used cars are appearing on the market on an "astounding" scale, writes Autohome. According to the Association of Automobile Dealers of China, in 2024, the share of vehicles with a registration date of less than three months and a mileage of less than 50 km in the used car market reached 12.7%, which is 7.2% more than in 2020. Last year, 15.7 million used cars were sold in China, up 6.1% by 2023. In other words, we are talking about millions of cars that are considered used, but have not traveled a single kilometer. This year, despite the general decline in the used car market, the share of "used cars with zero mileage" has already increased to 15%.
The Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China held a meeting on May 27 with the participation of automotive companies and industry organizations. A source close to the Dongfeng Group told reporters that the meeting was voluntary and mainly concerned the export of used cars and the regulation of the "used zero-mileage cars" market.
Last year's "snow"
Due to increased domestic Chinese competition, exports have become a way for many companies to achieve growth. Some dealers ship unsold new cars abroad in "parallel exports," thereby receiving a tax discount on used car exports and avoiding domestic tax costs.
A representative of one of the local car dealers said that there are already hundreds of companies in China exporting used cars with zero mileage, CNS reports. The cars go to Russia and the UAE, among others.
— Now such supplies are quite significant. We are talking about thousands of cars that are transported to Russia and bought in small salons," Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union (NAS), told Izvestia. He also noted that the recycling fee does not allow using the Russian market to get rid of excess cars in China.
Buying a car imported from China through "alternative channels" can bring problems to the buyer, Anton Shaparin noted.
— First of all, all Chinese cars are in constant communication with China. And automakers can suspend accounts, and, accordingly, try in every possible way to "slow down" these cars, turn off the screens, and so on," he said.
According to the analytical agency Autostat, almost 72,000 new cars were delivered to Russia in the first quarter, with China accounting for 85% of this number. 82% of cars imported from China were produced last year and 3% were produced in 2023, said Sergey Tselikov, General Director of Autostat. He added that in 2021, the share of last year's cars reached 10%.
In the segment of used cars, imports from China occupy the third place with a share of 10% — Toyota cars are mainly imported from there, but Geely also appears.
The market won't be blown up
If used cars without mileage were massively supplied from China to Russia, they could put some downward pressure on the prices of the new car segment, said Irina Frank, CEO of Frank Auto.
— The main flow of used cars from China to Russia is formed at the expense of ordinary used cars. Although individual copies may enter Russia through gray schemes, it is not worth expecting a mass flow of these "zero traps", especially after the intervention of the regulator. Their prices in China, as a rule, are only slightly lower than new ones, and not comparable to real used cars, which also reduces their potential attractiveness for export, Irina Frank believes.
In Russia, the final price is influenced not only by the cost price, but also by all mandatory customs duties, recycling, and taxes, said Nikolai Ivanov, director of Rolf's New Car department.
— All this together will provoke a fairly large increase in the price. Therefore, they may end up here, but they are unlikely to cost much less than they initially cost in the Chinese market. And they won't "blow up" the market, that's my forecast," he told Izvestia.
At the same time, experts believe that the supply of used cars from China has prospects.
— Used cars in China can be sold for almost nothing. However, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the prices will be cheap, but on the other, the Chinese mostly do not treat the car like the Japanese, and not all cars are the height of perfection. If cars between the ages of three and five are attracted to us in decent condition, relatively fresh and understandable, that is, give or take the same cars that we sell now, this will be a good option," says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in—chief of Za Rulem.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»