The Ministry of Commerce has approved four automobile trading companies to conduct parallel import automobile business in Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Hainan province. A total of more than 200 parallel import vehicles will enter the bonded zone by the end of this year, according to a report from Hainan Daily.

The four pilot companies are China (Haikou) Automobile Trading Co Ltd, Hainan Juseng Automobile Sales Service Co Ltd, Benshun Zhongcheng Automobile Supply Chain Management Co Ltd and Jingang Huayu International Trade Co Ltd.

They were allowed to operate warehousing and display transactions in a bid to provide more convenience for the development of automobile trade in the zone, said the report.

The pilot enterprises are busy implementing their plans for procurement, logistics, financial services and other relevant business, said officials with the Haikou bonded zone. Cars purchased by China (Haikou) Automobile Trading Co Ltd arrived at Haikou Port a few days ago and have entered the storage base at the bonded zone.　

The pilot program for the parallel import of automobiles, launched in July, allows vehicles to be imported from abroad to Hainan without authorization from any particular authorities.

The scheme has a target to bring in 10,000 parallel-import cars by 2020, and a total sales volume of 7 billion yuan ($10.5 billion), according to a statement issued by the Hainan Provincial People's Government.

It said the pilot program was designed to explore the Hainan experience in innovative mechanisms for the parallel import of vehicles and to promote the development of a parallel import business chain. This chain will cover overseas purchasing, domestic marketing, supplies of spare parts, repair and maintenance services, car recalls, logistics, finance and insurance.

Local consumers will be able to buy cars at lower prices thanks to the new pilot parallel import policy.