(Yicai Global) Sept. 10 -- Beijing Ouhao Automobile Trade, which is building a second-hand car export network in East and West Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, will send its first shipment of used buses to Nigeria on Sept. 15.

Ten vehicles worth CNY300,000 (USD42,125) will leave from the eastern Chinese port of Tianjin, Beijing Youth Daily learned yesterday from China's Ministry of Commerce. Last month, Beijing Hyundai Motor Group China fulfilled three test export orders for used passenger cars.

China's commerce and public security ministries and its customs administration jointly approved the export of second-hand cars in 10 provinces and cities on April 26. Beijing, one of the pilot areas, picked five firms and three third-party test bodies to draw up procedures and vehicle examination standards. The first consignment shows that the capital's used car export business is headed in the right direction.

Exports of clunkers can "stimulate the vitality of the domestic automobile consumption market, promote the healthy development of China's automobile industry, and promote the steady improvement of foreign trade," the commerce ministry said in a statement on May 6.

China sold about 28 million new cars and almost 14 million second-hand ones last year. The country has the most vehicles in the world at over 300 million, which means its future dominance of the global used car sector is virtually assured.

Editor: Ben Armour