Posted on 18 Apr 2025
The volume of ferrous scrap recycled from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in China increased strongly in March and is expected to continue rising this month, driven by the robust automotive trade-in activity among consumers, Mysteel's recent survey suggests.
Last month, a total of 34,200 units of ELVs were scrapped and shredded by the 85 domestic automotive scrapping and dismantling companies under Mysteel's tracking, higher by 5.7% from the previous month.
By the end of March, the total of ELVs held in stock by these 85 processors had also increased by 1.1% on month to reach 14,100 units, the survey showed.
Encouraged by the generous trade-in subsidies provided by the central government, Chinese consumers remain enthusiastic about replacing their old vehicles with newer models, market sources observed.
By April 10, the vehicle trade-in information platform under China's Ministry of Commerce had received more than 2 million applications for vehicle renewal subsidies, according to data released by the ministry.
Over the first three months of this year, the number of ELVs recycled by the 85 processing companies under Mysteel's tracking totalled 100,700 units, higher by a significant 9.7% on year.
On the other hand, the car dismantling companies ramped up their processing in March to ensure that their scrap generation could meet the needs of steelmakers, Mysteel's other survey showed.
Both electric-arc-furnace (EAF) and blast furnace (BF) steel mills lifted their production at a fast rate in March as they saw steel consumption recover steadily, according to the survey.
For April, the volume of steel scrap recycled from ELVs is expected to expand further, supported by the trade-in policy, but the growth may slow down, Mysteel's survey suggests.
The weak performance of steel scrap prices has squeezed the scrap processors' profit margins and dented their enthusiasm for collecting and processing such vehicles, Mysteel Global noted.
By April 16, for example, the market price of scrapped vehicle chassis in Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 1,980/tonne ($271.3/t) excluding the 13% VAT, down by 2.9% on month.
Source:Mysteel Global
