(Yicai  Global) May 6 -- German auto giants Porsche and Daimler have started  exporting finished vehicles to China through state-owned China Railway  Express.

Stuttgart-based Porsche has been  shipping cars from Hafen, Bremen to central Chongqing municipality since  last month, state-backed Chinese News Service reported. 

CRE  runs a freight train service for intermodal containers between China  and Europe as well as countries along the Belt and Road regions. The  service can expand access to the Chinese market for the carmakers. 

China  is the single largest market for Porsche, making up close to one-third  of all deliveries last year. Compared with transporting finished  vehicles to Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin by  ship, transporting via train can save up to three weeks. 

The company, which traditionally relies on railways for European logistics,  can now expand its model to inter-continental freight between Europe  and Asia, the firm said. 

Customers in  southwest China can get Porsche's vehicles much faster now, according to  Oliver Blonde, the head of Porsche's logistics and production  management and control. CRE ships around 11 percent of Porsche's new  sports cars for the China market. 

Daimler has launched a pilot scheme with CRE for the shipment of its own vehicles to China via rail. 

Editor: William Clegg