In a move designed to shake-up the retail sector, China's Ministry of Commerce has unveiled new automobile sales administrative measures allowing auto trading companies to sell vehicles without gaining authorisation from carmakers in advance, according to the China Daily.
The new measures will go into effect in July and the ministry hopes they will improve sales and aftersales services across different auto brands.
The report says that 'both authorised and unauthorised car sale's will be allowed, and automobile retail markets, stores and e-commerce outlets 'will be the new ways to sell cars in China'.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) forecasts that new vehicle sales volume in China could hit 29.4m vehicles this year, around 5% up on 2016.
The association also forecasts that passenger car sales volume could increase by 5% to 25.7m this year.
The CAAM paints an optimistic picture for the market as more households make their first purchases and more also move to replace their vehicles, as the parc grows. Analysts also maintain that new demand, driven by motorisation and rising incomes, is moving to inland 'tier 3' cities.
