As part of a broad effort to subsidize China’s domestic automotive production boom, its government is responsible for the expanding practice of dumping cheap, zero-mile “used” cars into foreign markets, Reuters reported Tuesday. According to the wire service, China has been dumping these cars (which have never been driven) in Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East, inflating domestic sales figures and simultaneously depressing the market for competitors’ offerings.
“This is the outcome of an almost-four-year price war that has made companies desperate to book any sales possible,” a U.S.-based analyst told the wire service.
The majority of the vehicles being dumped are gasoline-powered, Reuters said, but not all of them. Nearly half a million zero-mile “used” vehicles were dumped in 2024 alone.
According to the report, the process is as brazen as it is simple, and it often begins before the car ever sees a showroom. There’s no actual customer involved; the cars are sold directly to exporters (either by the manufacturer or the intended dealership), registered, and plated, then shipped off.
At least 20 local governments within China were identified as participants in the national push, helping arrange various perks and carve-outs to support the practice, including fast-tracking rebates, supplying additional export licenses, and investing in the infrastructure needed to move such a vast number of vehicle exports. According to public documents, some have even constructed warehouse facilities that local exporters can use to stock export inventory at no charge.
Sichuan province said in a policy document released last year that it had backed efforts to develop an online market for its exports on existing e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, where more than 100 automakers in that province alone have been selling used vehicles to overseas customers.
If that sounds like a lot, keep in mind that even as far back as 2021, China had more than 300 automakers competing in its electric-vehicle market alone—that’s in addition to its ICE manufacturing infrastructure. Per Reuters, the government began actively supporting zero-mile dumping efforts almost immediately after it lifted its export restrictions in 2019.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been warned of the side effects of China’s attempt to slingshot itself to the forefront of global EV production. In 2021, Technology Minister Xiao Yaqing suggested that consolidation within the industry was inevitable, and even encouraged, but that the government would find ways to help its auto industry mature.
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Byron is a contributing writer and auto reviewer with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
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