Xpeng denies report producer exports new cars as ‘used’

Beijing — Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng has not been exporting new cars as used, an Xpeng executive was reported as saying by Shanghai-based official media outlet The Paper on Wednesday.

China's auto industry has inflated car sales for years through a burgeoning government-backed grey market that registers new cars right off the assembly line and then ships them overseas as “used” vehicles.

Tang Zhikun, GM of Xpeng’s international business centre, speaking on the sidelines of an industry forum in Shanghai, said a large number of domestic new cars are being exported as so-called “zero-mileage” used vehicles to overseas markets such as Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, according to the report in The Paper.

But Tang said: “We are indeed more fortunate that we were very restrained last year and did not do this.”

The authorities in many overseas markets are tightening regulation over such tactics this year and gradually banning their imports of the “zero-mileage” cars through legislation and certifications, Tang said in The Paper report.

Xpeng did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has been shipping new cars right off the assembly line as “used” overseas since 2019, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Reuters