Benefiting from the continuous advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, robust infrastructure construction demands in emerging overseas markets, and optimized port clearance policies, Guangzhou’s used commercial vehicle export industry has achieved explosive growth in 2026. As a core hub for used truck transactions and exports in South China, Guangzhou has further consolidated its leading position in China’s second-hand commercial vehicle foreign trade sector with prominent industrial scale and complete supply chain advantages.
According to the latest statistical data released by Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, from January to April 2026, the export volume of used trucks in Guangzhou, covering dump trucks, heavy-duty tractors, light-duty cargo trucks and engineering commercial vehicles, reached 32,000 units, with a total export value of 4.56 billion RMB. The year-on-year growth rates of volume and amount hit 42.8% and 51.3% respectively. At present, Guangzhou’s used truck export volume accounts for nearly 30% of the national total export of used commercial vehicles, ranking among the top echelons of China’s used vehicle export cities.
In terms of export structure, traditional mainstream models maintain strong market competitiveness. 6×4 heavy-duty trucks, 4×2 semi-trailer tractors and medium and large engineering dump trucks remain the core export products, widely favored by overseas infrastructure, mining and logistics enterprises. In terms of market distribution, African countries including Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, Middle East regions such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Southeast Asian markets including Vietnam and Cambodia are the main export destinations. These regions are in a period of rapid infrastructure development, with huge rigid demand for cost-effective used engineering and logistics trucks.
Industry data from key export enterprises including Guangzhou Pujiang International shows that the single-month maximum export volume of individual enterprises has exceeded 2,000 units in 2026. It is worth noting that China’s National III and National IV emission standard trucks, which are phased out domestically due to domestic environmental protection and transportation upgrading policies, have outstanding cost performance advantages after standardized maintenance, component replacement and overall debugging. These vehicles fully meet the entry and usage standards of most developing countries and have become the bulk of Guangzhou’s used truck export transactions.
Policy dividends and port efficiency optimization are the core engines driving the rapid growth of the industry. In 2026, Guangzhou continued to launch a series of supportive policies for the used vehicle export industry through the municipal government’s “Benefit Enterprises” campaign. Qualified used truck export enterprises can receive a maximum policy reward of 5 million RMB, while the filing procedures, export license application and enterprise qualification review processes have been comprehensively simplified, greatly reducing the time cost and operational threshold for enterprises to carry out export business.
At the terminal port level, Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port has built a special exclusive service base for used vehicle exports. Cooperating closely with Guangzhou Customs, the port has innovated the “real-time application and on-site inspection” intelligent clearance model, compressing the overall customs clearance time for single used truck export from the original several hours to within 1 hour. The efficient customs supervision mechanism has greatly improved the efficiency of vehicle shipment and delivery. From January to May 2026, the volume of used vehicle export business in Nansha Port surged by 170% year-on-year.
Industry analysts pointed out that the continuous domestic phase-out wave of National IV standard heavy-duty trucks has released a large number of high-quality used truck resources, forming a sufficient and stable vehicle supply base for Guangzhou’s export industry. Combined with the strong rigid demand for low-cost and high-quality logistics and engineering vehicles in overseas emerging markets, Guangzhou’s used truck export business is expected to maintain a year-on-year growth rate of more than 30% for the whole year of 2026. It will become a new benchmark foreign trade track in Guangzhou following new energy vehicle exports, continuously empowering the high-quality development of the city’s foreign trade economy.