China’s auto industry is facing turmoil due to years of overproduction driven by state policies. This has led to a glut of vehicles, prompting deep discounts and reliance on grey-market sales, affecting the profitability of car dealers. Dealers are reducing prices to meet factory rebate requirements, while unsold cars are manipulated in various ways, such as being registered as “sold” or exported as “used” vehicles. Vehicles are sometimes abandoned or sold at auctions for a fraction of their cost. This issue has fostered destructive competition, creating a problematic cycle of oversupply. Local governments have ... (full story)