(Yicai Global) March 14 -- Rongyu Group Co. is poised to partner with main importers in China to embark on parallel auto imports.

The integrated technology and financial services company based in China's northeastern Jilin province inked an agreement to such effect with China Auto CAIEC Ltd. and Ningbo Haitaoche Technology Co. yesterday, it announced.

Beijing-based CAIEC will take charge of overseas procurement, while Zhejiang province-headquartered Haitaoche will assume the task of import link work including the license to import the cars and sell them on e-commerce platforms, while Rongyu Group will sell the vehicles imported. Profit distribution will be subject to later negotiation, the agreement provides.

The partnership will make the most of the overseas product channel resources and brand advantages of China Automobiles and the experience of Haitaoche in licensing and selling the imported autos on its e-commerce platform to advance the company's positioning in this area, wrest greater market share, and improve its placement in the vehicle consumption milieu.

CAIEC was once the only enterprise with the right to import automobiles into China. It has built solid partnerships with international vehicle makers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Ford, Renault and Mitsubishi. Haitaoche is one of the largest e-commerce platforms for auto imports in China, whose subsidiary Ningbo Meishan Haitaoche International Trade Co. is the only pilot e-commerce enterprise for parallel import of automobiles filed with the country's commerce ministry, per the announcement.

Parallel import automobiles -- also known as 'parallel trade imports' -- are those traders buy on the overseas market without authorization from brand manufacturers and then introduce into China for sale. They fall into four categories based on their respective countries of origin: US-specification, Middle East edition, Canada edition and European edition to differentiate them from the China-specification automobiles regularly sold.