BEIJING: China’s push to encourage the automotive industry is taking shape through measures including the expansion of trade-in policies, strengthening the used car market and easing purchasing restrictions, boosting confidence among automakers, dealers and consumers.
An injection of long-term special treasury bonds amounting to 300 billion yuan will be issued in 2025 to support the expansion of consumer goods trade-in programmes, notably automobiles, which was outlined in an action plan revealed by the central government in mid-March.
Compared to 2024’s 150 billion yuan in treasury bonds, it is expected to invigorate market activity, said China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) deputy secretary-general Lang Xuehong.
Driven by these trade-in policies, domestic passenger vehicle retail sales reached 22.89 million units in 2024, a 5.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase, with rapid growth in new energy vehicle penetration.
In early 2025, China expanded the scope of vehicle scrapping and replacement while improving subsidy standards for trade-ins. With new trade-in policies rolling out regionally, the China Passenger Car Association estimates that five million vehicles will be scrapped and 10 million vehicles will be replaced this year.
According to CADA statistics, there were 19.61 million used cars transacted in 2024, a 6.52% y-o-y increase, with a total transaction value of 1.29 trillion yuan. — China Daily/ANN
