Last week, Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors, launched a scathing attack on the concept of “zero-kilometer used cars”, uncovering more industry secrets. Analysts estimate that the scale of “zero-kilometer used cars” could reach one million vehicles this year. Experts point out that the chaos surrounding “zero-kilometer used cars” has been around for over a decade; with 90% of exported new energy used cars falling into this category.
Hu Bo, a veteran in the automotive aftermarket and used car trading sector, told Economic Observer that “zero-kilometer used cars” indicate the “unwritten rules” in the automotive industry, essentially a grey means of inventory clearance by some car manufacturers and 4S stores, turning new cars into nominally used ones.
“Zero-kilometer used cars” refer to new cars that have completed registration procedures but have extremely low or zero mileage.
Combining statistics from online sources, Hu Bo estimates that “zero-kilometer used cars” in traditional fuel vehicles account for approximately 1% to 3% of the used car market, mainly consisting of display vehicles, test drive cars, and slow-moving models. In the new energy sector, “zero-kilometer used cars” make up around 3% to 5% of the market, with some models reaching up to 5% to 8%, such as older inventory of models like Xiaopeng P7 and Iconiq 001.
According to experts from relevant associations, over 90% of China’s exported new energy used cars are “zero-kilometer used cars”.
Customs data from China in 2024 showed that out of approximately 272,000 used cars exported, over 244,000 were new energy “zero-kilometer used cars”.
Based on data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, in 2024, there were about 18.49 million transactions for traditional fuel used cars and 1.13 million for new energy used cars. Taking export figures into account, the total quantity of “zero-kilometer used cars” in China in 2024 could range from 463,400 to 855,000.
If the domestic used car market in 2025 maintains the previous year’s growth rate of 6.52% and with the continued rapid growth of exported new energy used cars, it is possible that by 2025, the number of “zero-kilometer used cars” in China could reach up to a million vehicles.
Wang Meng, an expert from China Automobile Dealers Association and a veteran in the used car industry, stated that from an industry perspective, “zero-kilometer used cars” are not a recent phenomenon, but have been ongoing for over a decade or even longer. However, due to price wars in the domestic car market in recent years and issues with used car exports, “zero-kilometer used cars” have evolved into a form of “hidden price reduction”.
Li Yanwei, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association, publicly commented that “zero-kilometer used cars” involve financial fraud issues for listed companies. In the US stock market, this is considered serious financial fraud behavior, resulting in fines imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and penalties for executives.
A reporter from Jiemian News found on the Dangdangche used car trading platform that there are over 5,000 used cars with less than 10,000 kilometers driven and under a year old, registered just this year, covering almost all mainstream car brands.
For instance, a nearly new 2025 ZhiJie S7 is priced at 255,800 yuan, just under 40,000 yuan cheaper than the new model. And a 2024 Volvo S90 with a list price of 406,900 yuan, only has 100 kilometers on it but is selling for 243,000 yuan.
During an interview with Sina Finance on May 23, Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors, remarked that “(zero-kilometer used cars) are being sold by three or four thousand dealers, it’s very chaotic.”
In response, used car trader Liu Jin told The Paper that “three to four thousand dealers” is an understatement. He explained that there are hundreds of thousands of used car dealers nationwide, and the mentioned figure perhaps only refers to dealers primarily focusing on zero-kilometer used cars.
The sheer scale of “zero-kilometer used cars” begs the question of their origin. According to Guangzhou Daily, there are typically two sources for these cars: car manufacturers selling off newly produced cars or long-stored unsold inventory as used cars to clear stock and boost sales figures; or authorized dealers transferring ownership of unpopular vehicles to qualify for manufacturer rebates, subsequently repossessing them the next month citing reasons like “customer loan rejection”, and reselling these cars for profit.
Expert Li Yanwei from the China Automobile Dealers Association shares a similar view. He informed Jiemian News that some auto companies work with supply chain companies to convert new cars into “zero-kilometer used cars” by pre-insuring them, which are then circulated back to company-owned stores under the guise of display cars for resale. Downstream, dealer groups also register aged new cars as used cars for sale to clear inventory, recover capital, and earn sales volume rebates.
Some used car dealers take advantage of national, regional, and manufacturer’s trade-in or scrappage subsidies to purchase new cars, apply for subsidies, then lower the actual selling price of vehicles using the subsidy amount, allowing customers who do not qualify for the policy to purchase new cars under the “used car” guise. The “zero-kilometer used cars” utilizing subsidies mainly focus on new energy small cars priced under 100,000 yuan, such as Geely Star Wish, BenTeng Xiaoma, Wuling MINI, among others.
A network from China’s automobile industry, dealers, and used car traders have gradually developed a chain operation around “zero-kilometer used cars”, influenced by complex factors like market pricing mechanisms and policies.
A used car dealer from Henan told Economic Observer that with the collapse of new car pricing systems for gasoline vehicles and lower resale values for electric vehicles, doing traditional used car business in recent years has become less profitable. In contrast, “zero-kilometer used cars” offer a distinct advantage – requiring no arduous individual car acquisitions, while being able to sell at the price of a new car’s condition without worrying about market competitiveness.
For entire automotive companies, if new car production is unable to sell in a timely manner resulting in inventory, aside from impacting sales growth, it also creates cash flow pressures. According to financial data, in the first quarter of 2025, Beiqi Blue Valley, Changan Automobile, Saic Motor, and GAC Group all generated negative net cash flows from operating activities, amounting to -236 million yuan, -3.501 billion yuan, -76.3 billion yuan, and -112.1 billion yuan respectively.
Through “zero-kilometer used cars”, automotive dealers can efficiently manage forcibly bundled sales of entire vehicles or slow-moving models, meet manufacturer quantitative assessments, and obtain factory rebates efficiently.