(Yicai Global) Sept. 17 -- Used car salesmen are making a killing in China as sales surge and prices of certain secondhand luxury vehicles jump to more than that of new autos amid a worldwide chip dearth that is seriously hampering automakers’ production.

Repurchasing premium-brand used cars at their retail price and selling them at the cost of a new vehicle can generate over CNY10,000 (USD1,550) in profit, a dealer told Yicai Global. Customers also save on 10 percent car purchase tax.

A BMW dealership in Chengdu, southwestern Sichuan province is offering to buy back cars from the BMW 3-Series that remain relatively new with under 15,000 kilometers mileage. Similarly, some Mercedez-Benz dealers are repurchasing models from the Benz E300L, C260L and GLC series that are only up to two years old.

However, they need to be careful in case they buy back too many used cars and the output of new vehicles increases in the meantime, the dealer said. Many industry insiders, though, expect the chip shortage to last until next year.

China’s secondhand car sales surged 40.4 percent in the first eight months from the same period last year to 11.4 million units, while new auto sales only jumped 11.9 percent over the period.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Kim Taylor