It surged by 196% in half a year! The export of new energy used cars is rewriting the underlying logic of China's cars going abroad

In the first half of the year, China exported 325,000 used cars, a year-on-year increase of 61%.

This growth rate is already very strong. But the really explosive numbers are hidden in the subdivision structure--

Exports of new energy used cars surged by 196% year-on-year.

This is almost three times that of the same period last year, accounting for 31% of total used car exports.

What is more worth pondering is: In what context did this 196% occur?

The 180-day red line was implemented, the exit channels for quasi-new cars were blocked, and zero-kilometer vehicles were almost cleared. The export market is squeezing water, but new energy is exploding against the trend.

This shows one thing: this is not policy arbitrage, it is real demand.

Today, let's take 196% apart and see: Who is buying it, why now, what pits are there, and how to land it.

1. Look at the data chassis first: good business, only 196%

Proportion jumped

●: New energy used vehicles accounted for 31% of total exports, about 10% in the same period last year

price premium

●: The average FOB price of a bicycle is 30% higher than that of a fuel vehicle

gross profit rolling

●: Gross profit is 1.5-2 times that of fuel vehicles

Bottom line: New energy will earn more by riding the same car.

This is the fundamental reason why capital and car dealers collectively turn.

2. Three tracks, three ways to play

New energy used cars are not monolithic. When you take it apart, you can see three completely different businesses:

Track 1: Micro pure electricity-the main force in Central Asia and Southeast Asia

Micro/small pure electricity such as Hongguang MINIEV and BYD Dolphin account for more than half of the exports of new energy used vehicles, and mainly travel to Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

The logic is very simple: the local per capita income is limited, and a pure electric car with tens of thousands of yuan and enough battery life to travel in the city is the most realistic four wheels.

Domestic micro-trams are curled up to the extreme, and the source of vehicles has spilled out in batches, just to feed this track.

Characteristics: Volume, low unit price, extreme price sensitivity.

Track 2: Hybrid-a panacea without mileage anxiety

Plug-in hybrid models such as Qin PLUS and Song PLUS account for 33%, and are in strong demand in Kazakhstan and the Middle East.

The lethality of hybrid is that it has both the fuel-saving advantages of new energy and no charging anxiety.

In Central Asia and the Middle East, where charging facilities are scarce, plug-in and hybrid is a much more pragmatic option than pure electricity-which is why hybrids sell best in Kazakhstan.

Characteristics: The market between fuel and pure electricity is the most stable at present.

Track 3: High-end pure electricity-high-end customer orders in wealthy markets in the Middle East

Nilai, Ideal, and Tesla with lidar are concentrated on flowing to wealthy markets in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates.

Buyers in these markets are not short of money, but are lacking in fully configured and intelligent and leading experiences.

Characteristics: High customer orders, high gross profit, but small volume, strict requirements on vehicle condition and brand.

3. Why now? Three conditions are met at the same time

196% is not an accidental pulse, but three lines meet at the same point:

1. The pool of vehicles has reached the bottom-nearly 50 million vehicles are on the road

As of the end of June 2026, the number of new energy vehicles in the country was 48.97 million, of which 33.675 million were pure electricity.

More importantly, the domestic new energy replacement cycle is only 2-3 years-vehicle sources are flocking to the second-hand market at a visible rate to the naked eye.

There is sufficient ammunition on the supply side and will last for years.

2. Product strength is poor--the impact of dimension reduction at the same price

A BYD Plus that has been driving for three years sells for 80,000 yuan in Africa: more than 400 kilometers of battery life, smart cockpit, and connected cars.

What about Japanese used cars at the same price? Even the reversing image must be optional.

China's smart electric vehicles are cross-generational crushing of old Japanese and Korean cars in overseas second-hand markets.

3. Policies give up the track-a really second-hand new stage

The 180-day red line squeezed out 0 kilometers of cars, and the exporter was forced to return to the real used car track; the pure electricity export license closed the channel to the main engine factory authorization system.

On the surface, it seems to be tightening, but in fact it is clearing the export of pseudo-new energy, freeing up a bigger stage for used cars with real new energy.

Four and three obstacles: How far 196% can run depends on these three things

The increment is certain, but the ceiling is equally clear. There are three pits, each of which can reduce profits to zero:

Kan Yi: Battery Health Level (SOH)-There is no unified testing standard

The core asset of new energy used vehicles is the three electric systems, but the current situation of the industry is that there is no unified and authoritative battery health (SOH) testing specification, and the background data of car companies is closed.

Risk scenario: Received a car that was locked by OTA (four departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have issued four major OTA bans, but the hidden locks in existing cars still exist), the apparent battery life and the actual battery life are quite different, and it is exported overseas. The buyer will expose it once it is tested-directly destroying reputation and compensating for the purchase price.

Countermeasures: Third-party SOH testing(including abnormal diving investigation) must be carried out before export, and vehicles should be collected carefully if the SOH is less than 85%; the test report is delivered on the vehicle, which is both risk control and selling point.

Kam 2: Car locks and regional restrictions-the three biggest pitfalls that overseas buyers fear most

Domestic version of the car machine: Chinese interface, domestic maps, and domestic OTA services are either not available outside the country or are damaged. Some models also have area locks that cannot be activated overseas.

Countermeasures: Confirm the car version and regional restrictions before taking in the car, brush in advance those that can be used for overseas versions, and inform buyers of those that cannot-concealing the car problem is equivalent to committing suicide in overseas markets.

Kansan: Charging infrastructure-Africa's shortcomings

The African Economic Report 2026 bluntly stated: Insufficient charging infrastructure is the main obstacle restricting the development of electric vehicles in Africa.

Most countries in Africa have almost zero charging facilities, and coverage in Central Asia and Southeast Asia is also limited.

This means that there is a ceiling for the penetration of pure electricity in Africa, and hybrid and fuel vehicles will still be the main force in the short term; whoever first follows the export network to lay charging piles and replace electricity services will be able to get the first bite in the next round.

conclusion

196% is the starting point, not the peak.

The three conditions of vehicle source pool, poor product power generation, and policy clearance will only become more mature in the next few years-new energy used cars will go out to sea, and it is likely that they will be one of the most certain tracks in the next five years.

But how fast you run does not depend on the air outlet, but on the rigour of testing and after-sales thickness.

In the first half, the competition was about who got on the bus first, and in the second half, the competition was about who would not lose the chain.

Source: Xiong Yu, digital automobile export

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