In the first seven months, there were nearly 400,000 vehicles, and new energy surged by 196%. China's used car exports are changing to a living method

An underestimated number

In the first half of the year, there were 325,000 vehicles, with an export value of US$7.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 61% and 54% respectively.

This is the report card delivered by China's used car exports from January to June 2026. Looking at the total volume alone, compared with the new car exports of more than 5 million vehicles in the first half of the year, it seems that it is not worth mentioning. But if you zoom in, you will find that what is hidden in this set of data is a once-in-ten structural change in the industry:

● The proportion of new energy used car exports rushed to 31%, a year-on-year surge of 196%, almost tripling;

● The top ten destination countries span the four major sectors of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and the dependence on a single market has been completely broken;

● Half a year after the implementation of the 180-day red line, the way for zero-kilometer new cars to pass off as used cars has been blocked, and real used cars have been placed in the C position.

Based on an average monthly rate of 66,000 vehicles in the second quarter, exports in July are expected to be between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles, with a cumulative total of approximately 390,000 to 400,000 vehicles in the first seven months. Looking at the whole year, stabilizing 600,000 vehicles + is a high probability event.

Today, we use data to completely tear down this export map.

1. Where are the cars sold? Top 10 Countries

In the first half of 2026, China's top ten used car exporting countries together accounted for 78% of total exports. The top three speak with data:

From January to July, there is a high probability that the list on this list will not change, only the internal ranking will change.

There are four major sectors, each with its own style of play:

Russia: The largest stock and the fastest turnover.  There are already a large number of new cars of China brands in the local area. Used cars serve as supplements and are shipped in batches through land freight trains. The channels are mature and the turnover is fast. It is the basics of used cars in China.

Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan + Kazakhstan): Transfer station business.  A large number of used cars are re-exported through these two countries and then flow to the broader CIS market. What is tested here is not the terminal capabilities, but the compliance and efficiency of the entrepot chain.

West Africa: The brightest growth pole this year.  Nigeria has a population of more than 200 million, and the annual demand for imported used cars is about 1 million. Lang Xuehong (China Automobile Dealers Association) directly calls it the first target market for used car exports. Ghana exported 14,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, a year-on-year growth rate of more than 290%, making it the fastest among the top ten markets. The outbreak in West Africa is no accident-China-Africa economic and trade relations continue to heat up, Nigeria's second-hand car import surcharge has been lowered, coupled with the Lagos Port Area's status as a cargo transit hub in West Africa, triple benefits have superimposed.

The Middle East (United Arab Emirates): It is both a destination and a transit point.& nbsp; The United Arab Emirates has strong demand for high-end new energy used vehicles. At the same time, as a transit hub for Dubai's Jebel Ali Port, a large number of vehicles first arrive in Dubai and then diverted to East African countries.

This map has two characteristics worth remembering: First, the top ten markets are distributed in four major sectors, and policy fluctuations in any market cannot hurt the market; second, the market differentiation of new energy and fuel vehicles is very clear-fuel vehicles in Africa and the Middle East are the absolute main force. New energy is rapidly penetrating in Central Asia and Southeast Asia, and high-end pure electricity is concentrated in the rich countries in the Middle East and some Central Asian markets.

2. What car is sailing? Popular vehicle structure

The official has not released a model export list, but the structural data disclosed at the conference is more valuable than the list.

New energy used cars are the real king this year.

In the first half of the year, new energy used vehicles accounted for 31% of total exports, a year-on-year increase of 196%. The average FOB price of bicycles was 30% higher than that of fuel vehicles, and the gross profit was 1.5 - 2 times that of fuel vehicles. When you take it apart, you can see that the three internal product lines go their own way:

Why are new energy used cars so fierce when going out to sea? Two underlying reasons.

The first is product power compaction.& nbsp; A BYD Plus that has been driving for three years is sold for RMB 80,000 in Africa, has a battery life of more than 400 kilometers and has a smart cockpit; a Japanese used car at the same price does not even have a reversing image. A second-hand NIO with a lidar is still much cheaper than a new local car of the same class when shipped to the Middle East, plus tariffs and freight charges. The low residual value generated domestically has instead become a price space for exports.

The second is the explosion of vehicle supply.  As of the end of June 2026, the number of new energy vehicles in the country was 48.97 million, including 33.675 million pure electric vehicles. These cars are continuing to flow into the second-hand market, while the new energy replacement cycle for young domestic consumers is only 2 - 3 years. Under the dual effects of rapid inflow and large stock, the source pool of export vehicles is expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Fuel vehicles are still the basics, accounting for about 69%.  Mainly 3 - 8 years old, the mainstream flows to Africa and the Middle East. There is one hidden track worth mentioning separately: second-hand heavy trucks. Nigeria has particularly strong demand for second-hand heavy trucks-in 2025, China exported 4352 second-hand heavy trucks to Nigeria, a year-on-year increase of 187.8%; in the first four months of this year, this number has exceeded 3600 units. Under the same operating conditions, the price of a 21-year-old Shaanxi Automobile Delong M3000S is only one-third of that of second-hand Scania in Europe. Heavy trucks are not a supplement to new cars. They are the hardest currency in West Africa's infrastructure cycle.

Conclusion: The plate is still big and the track has just begun

The annual global trade volume of used cars is about 6 million-7 million units: Japan exports about 1.7 million units a year, the European Union 1.5 million-2 million units, the United States about 1.2 million units, and South Korea stabilizes at more than 500,000 units. China's global share of exports in the name of used cars is less than 10%.

From going out to going in, there is an after-sales network, brand trust, and localized operations in between. But after a domestic market with an annual trading volume of more than 20 million vehicles is saturated, selling existing cars to places where they are needed-this business has just begun.

Source: Xiong Yu, digital automobile export

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