The African market remains to be deeply explored：
"Our country's used car exports mainly flow to Central Asian countries and Russia, but after the market trials of the past two years, it has become very difficult for companies to make money in these regions, so we have focused our business on the development of the African market this year," said Zhong Yi, CEO of the automobile export trade company SRC Super Technology, candidly. Zhong Yi introduced that the African market is optimistic due to several conditions that have basically matured. First is the vehicle source; with the domestic used car transaction volume increasing year by year, the vehicle source has become very abundant. Second is the stability of national relations; China has long maintained a good cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with African countries. Third is demand; African consumers have some personalized needs for used cars. For example, due to poor road infrastructure, customers require that the vehicle's ground clearance should reach 18 centimeters. If domestic used cars are sold locally without adjusting the ground clearance to 18 centimeters, the vehicles are likely to damage the chassis during operation, leading to battery fires. Fourth is the ownership rate; Africa has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, but the car ownership rate per thousand people is only 23, which provides a good opportunity for our country to export used cars. Additionally, the average age of customers in the African market is very young, and the average monthly income is equivalent to 500 to 1000 RMB, similar to China in the 1990s, so low-priced cars have a market. It is also undeniable that different African countries have different demands for left-hand drive and right-hand drive vehicles. Zhong Yi introduced that in the past, China's used cars could not be exported to right-hand drive countries. The conversion of left-hand drive to right-hand drive vehicles indeed has certain technical difficulties. Therefore, SRC Super Technology has cooperated with professional modification companies to establish a preparation center, which can leverage its own advantages to convert domestic used cars into right-hand drive vehicles for export. This not only meets the local market's demand but also increases the product's added value, achieving differentiated export products.
"Logistics need to balance efficiency, cost, and safety."
Logistics is a crucial part of the used car export process. Shi Feifei, co-founder and CMO of Shenzhen Che Li Zi Technology Co., Ltd., said that in terms of improving transportation efficiency, the supply chain logistics has built a highly efficient transportation network, integrating a variety of flexible transportation methods including road and rail. The transportation network includes domestic distribution centers, transportation routes, and overseas distribution centers.
The optimization of transportation methods in supply chain logistics has reduced transportation costs and time. For example, from ports to Central Asia or Russia, they will help customers choose different transportation methods based on different destination countries to improve efficiency and reduce costs, enhancing the competitiveness of export companies. Especially in the face of fluctuations in transportation capacity and freight rates, optimizing the transportation process can ensure that vehicles arrive on time. For instance, direct transportation is used for Central Asia, and transshipment is chosen for Russia to reduce unnecessary expenses.
Intelligent logistics management systems play a key role in improving transportation efficiency, enabling full-process monitoring of used car transportation, with tracking at every stage starting from vehicles being loaded domestically. When the intelligent platform detects delays in transportation, companies will communicate with customers in a timely manner and respond quickly to adjust transportation plans.
According to the relevant business person in charge of Yunquna Logistics Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yunquna"), the "used cars" exported by parallel export methods are currently mainly electric vehicles, while in pure used car exports, the proportion of fuel vehicles is high, and electric vehicles are very few.
The main methods of sea transportation for used car exports include container and roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ship transportation. When transporting electric vehicles, most shipping companies require the remaining battery charge of the vehicles to be maintained at 20% to 30% and also require the provision of power-off operation methods. In addition, due to different brands and models having different operation methods, shipping companies also require exporters to provide a series of safety manuals, such as how to deal with emergencies, including fires during transportation or sudden failure to start after arriving at the port. They need to have the ability to formulate emergency plans to ensure transportation quality and safety.
It is understood that Yunquna's professional team has 25 branches worldwide, including in Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc., and can assist in connecting with local legitimate traders as needed, thus being familiar with local specific requirements and processes. They can provide logistics contingency plans for used car exports, control the entire process, and avoid situations where export companies' vehicles are sent to shipping companies only to find that they lack qualifications or safety measures are not in place, ultimately affecting transportation and delivery cycles.
（Reprinted from China Automobile News Network）