In the “Circular Economy” industrial park in Donghai County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, many unauthorized auto parts dismantlers are removing parts from scrapped cars, attaching fake serial numbers, and even selling scrapped vehicles directly, turning them into “time bombs” on the roads.
Donghai County Circular Economy Industrial Park is located at the intersection of three counties in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. In March last year, the construction of the Donghai County Automobile Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization Base project started, with a construction area of 160,000 square meters, mainly for the settlement of projects such as recycling and dismantling of scrapped motor vehicles, processing and recycling of old parts, and remanufacturing of parts for comprehensive utilization. It can achieve annual dismantling of 30,000 scrapped cars, recycling of 2.4 million waste parts, and an annual output value of 3 billion yuan.
However, according to a report by CCTV’s “Financial Investigation,” reporters visiting several businesses in the park that sell scrapped car parts found that these operators are individual businesses who do not have the qualifications and production conditions required by the “Regulations on the Management of Recycling of Scrapped Motor Vehicles,” yet they are engaged in the business of dismantling scrapped vehicles.
A reporter asked a business to purchase a second-hand Foton Cummins 460 model engine. The business quickly found one from their own supply chain, which are parts dismantled from accident cars and scrapped vehicles. If there are concerns about the engine number causing trouble, they can even change the engine number.
The business said that machines with altered production years are mainly sold to uninformed buyers, or provided to scalpers to sell online. He admitted that buying second-hand car parts in the park is a “buy first, test later” scenario, and any after-sales warranty promises are mere “empty talk.”
These businesses not only operate locally but also have individuals responsible for collecting vehicles and parts from other places, then centralized for sale in Taolin Town. Once the price is negotiated, they can directly tow the car back to the local area, cutting the part needed on the spot. From cutting, testing, altering numbers, to shipping, the entire process takes less than 3 hours.
One business even revealed that most of the scrapped cars he handles are logistics or engineering vehicles that have been eliminated. Those in poor condition are dismantled, while those in good condition are sold as a whole and continue to be used on the road. Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that in the first half of this year, the national scrap car recycling volume was 2.778 million vehicles, an increase of 27.6% year-on-year.
After the widespread attention on “counterfeit parts, scrapped vehicles re-entering the market,” the Donghai County authorities issued a notice on the 12th, stating that a joint investigative team has been established, and on-site investigations have been carried out overnight. Currently, investigations have been initiated against individuals and businesses involved, and the materials related to the case have been sealed.
In response, some netizens questioned, “Intensive investigation? Don’t you know about this locally?” “Isn’t this how it’s done nationwide? Even the return of deceased people is the same.” “What industries in the country are not practicing deception?”
Others commented, “As soon as I see this kind of statement about a thorough investigation, I get angry.” “Without the flow of benefits, nothing can be achieved.” “Overnight investigation? Does their face hurt from slapping it?” “In the past, even if you were poor, you had some dignity. Looking at everything from a monetary angle, faces are now on the backside, and the backside is on the face.” “In less than three months, it will be resurrected again.”