China plans to ban the resale of newly registered vehicles within six months in an effort to curb the widespread practice of inflating sales figures using ‘zero-mileage’ used cars.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is weighing a proposal to prohibit the resale of newly registered vehicles within six months, a move widely viewed as a decisive step against the controversial zero-mileage used car market, where cars are sold as second-hand despite having never been driven.
The proposed ban represents Beijing’s first major push to address the longstanding issue in the sector while promoting greater transparency and fairness in the market.
Zero-mileage vehicles refer to brand-new cars that are registered and insured before ever being sold. This tactic enables automakers and dealerships to count them as completed sales, even though they haven’t left the lot. The practice is prevalent among electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in China, where fierce pricing competition, surplus production, and government-driven growth targets fuel the trend.
The China Automobile Dealers Association has expressed support for the proposed measure and recommended supplementary tools like export codes to help monitor the movement of used vehicles. At the same time, leading EV makers such as BYD and Chery have pledged to take action against dealerships that artificially boost sales by tampering with registration data.
The issue drew national attention in May when Wei Jianjun, CEO of Great Wall Motor, openly criticized the practice. Last month, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, published an editorial denouncing the sale of zero-mileage used cars. In response, China’s cabinet has recently vowed to strengthen oversight of the domestic automotive market.
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