Port for finished auto imports begins operations

The port used for finished automobile imports in Haicang bonded port area of Xiamen, Fujian province is now in service, marked by an opening ceremony held on Dec 28.

The first group of parallel-import cars is now available at the market; all are Middle East version of the 2018 Nissan Patrol.

Customers in Xiamen now can pick up their ordered cars within three months, two months faster than before as the imported cars need not be delivered to other ports.

Local auto dealers now can complete their customs clearance in Xiamen and freight, transshipment and container detention charges can be saved; therefore, customers in Xiamen can purchase a car at a cheaper price than before.

The Haicang port was the second port in Fujian to be authorized by the State Council for finished automobile import on May 28, 2018. Jiangyin port was the first.

After the authorization, the Haicang government together with local customs and inspection and quarantine agencies learned how to well construct a finished automobile import port in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Fuzhou.

They studied the management characteristics of parallel-import cars and developed a flexible customs clearance process for them according to the real situations of Haicang bonded port area and the demands of local enterprises.

The port used for finished automobile imports in the Haicang bonded port area is the first port of its kind authorized by the State Council last year to become operational in just 213 days.

The Haicang bonded port area enjoys the highest openness, most preferential policies and most convenient customs clearance in China. It houses world-class container facilities for deepwater ports and 26 10, 000-ton berths with annual handling capacity of more than 100 million tons.

The parallel-import cars refer to cars that are directly purchased from overseas markets and sold in Chinese markets without the authorization of the manufacturers. These cars can be classified as the US version, Middle East version, Canada version or Europe version by the importing country.