China's export licence for electric cars: what changed in 2026 and how to check your seller

Since 1 January 2026, a battery-electric passenger car can only leave China with an export licence. The rule comes from Announcement No. 54 of 2025, issued jointly by China's Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration for Market Regulation. It covers passenger cars with a VIN that are driven only by an electric motor, customs code 8703801090. Plug-in hybrid and petrol passenger cars were already on China's export licence list.

Why China did it

Chinese EV exports have grown fast. CnEVPost, citing the China Passenger Car Association, reported 1.44 million battery-electric cars exported from January to August 2025, up 27% on a year earlier. Part of that trade ran through unofficial channels: traders bought cars in China and shipped them abroad, and owners abroad then complained about software that could not be updated and about missing after-sales service. Officials said the licence system strengthens oversight of these exports.

Who can get a licence

Qualifications follow the rules for car and motorcycle exports that China set in 2012. For new cars, the maker applies and names the export companies it authorises. In practice, a trading company without the maker's authorisation cannot export a new battery-electric car in its own name. Used cars go through a separate system for registered used-car exporters, and since 2026 a car registered for less than 180 days needs an after-sales confirmation stamped by the maker before it can be exported.

What this means for you as a buyer

1. 1.Ask who the exporter is. The company on the export declaration must hold a licence. Get its name in writing before you pay a deposit.
2. 2.Match the contract and the paperwork. The seller in your contract, the exporter on the customs papers and the company that receives your payment should line up. If a seller asks you to pay a different company, stop and check.
3. 3.Be careful with "too cheap" offers. Cars offered far below the usual export price may depend on routes that no longer work under the new rules.
4. 4.Plan a little more time. Licensing and the maker's authorisation add steps; a good seller will tell you the timeline up front.

How CRAVEUO handles it: we do not export in our own name. Each order goes through a Chinese export company that holds the licence, and the contract names that company before any payment.