Led by CAERI, China's first pilot program for the bonded testing of defective overseas automotive parts has been launche

Recently, China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CAERI), an enterprise based in the Liangjiang New Area, spearheaded the establishment of China's first pilot program for the bonded testing of defective automotive parts returned from overseas. The project has officially launched at the Chongqing Lianglu-Guoyuan Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone, where the first batch of defective parts has already arrived and undergone testing.

As the export volume of Chinese-made vehicles continues to grow, the supporting service systems for overseas parts remain underdeveloped, leading to an increasing demand for returning defective parts to China for testing. For individual automakers, independent handling entails high costs; furthermore, import restrictions on used electromechanical products make the return process complex, expensive, and time-consuming, thereby hindering quality improvements for overseas models and limiting after-sales efficiency.

Leveraging its comprehensive strengths in equipment, technology, and standards, CAERI—a national-level automotive testing platform—established this bonded testing pilot to overcome import restrictions on used electromechanical products. By creating a compliant channel for returning defective parts for testing, the initiative helps the domestic automotive industry integrate more deeply into global industrial and value chains.

Currently, the pilot project covers 18 categories of core automotive components, including critical parts related to powertrains, electronics, and safety systems—such as engines, transmissions, electronic control systems, circuit boards, water pumps, oil pumps, cylinder heads, airbags, and wiper motors. The project operates within a fully compliant, closed-loop system: defective parts from overseas are imported via air freight, registered in the bonded zone’s inventory records in accordance with regulations, and managed strictly against the bonded testing catalog. All testing is conducted within the bonded zone; once testing is complete, the parts can either be re-exported or destroyed by compliant environmental agencies, significantly reducing disposal costs for enterprises.

The first batch of tested components—including wiper motors, engine oil pumps, and cylinder heads—originated from various overseas markets, including Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and Africa.

Moving forward, CAERI plans to expand the range of tested products and its global service reach, offering integrated services that encompass cross-border transport, domestic testing, and report issuance. The institute also intends to develop bonded maintenance services and deepen cooperation with automakers across global industrial chains.