Chinese state media calls for crackdown on 'zero-mileage used cars'

BEIJING (Reuters) -The Chinese practice of selling brand new cars as heavily discounted second-hand vehicles to get rid of inventory should be ended, the official newspaper of the country's governing Communist Party said in an article published on Thursday. The People's Daily, which often signals the positions of China's top Party leaders on a variety of issues, called for a crackdown on the practice, also known as zero-mileage used cars, just weeks after Great Wall Motor's Chairman Wei Jianjun publicly condemned it and China's commerce ministry met with Chinese automakers to discuss it. While China's Commerce Ministry did not make public its position, the People's Daily struck a harsh tone, calling out the inflation of sales data motivating Chinese carmakers and urging "tough regulatory action" to restore market order.