自贸区为平行进口车开辟新通道 - 2015年10月09日

THE Shanghai Free Trade Zone in its first two years has transformed the term "parallel imports" from automotive jargon into household lingo.

Beginning in January, a trial program allows dealers registered in the zone to import cars directly from overseas without authorization from car manufacturers. The new policy legitimizes what has long been a gray area. Seventeen dealers are participating in the project.

Still, the deregulation faces teething problems in certification and import tax policy.

Parallel imports suddenly became a buzzword in China's anti-monopoly campaign after regulators found several premium foreign carmakers guilty of thwarting market competition by setting minimum car prices for dealerships.