Alibaba to launch e-commerce platform for secondhand cars

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed an agreement on Tuesday with China Grand Auto Services Co. Ltd, the country's largest passenger vehicle dealer, to set up an online trading platform for secondhand cars.

The secondhand cars will be auctioned on Taobao.com, Alibaba's online trading platform. Professionals from China Grand Auto will provide online consultancy, arrange customers to see the cars in stores and provide after-sales services, said Zhang Jianfeng, president of Taobao.

The consumption data will be analyzed by Alibaba, which can provide loans to customers through its financing arm, said Zhang.

The online-to-offline trading will be supported first in China Grand Auto's 30 stores in east China's Anhui Province and will expand to its 500 stores nationwide.

China's secondhand cars currently account for only a quarter of the total car trading volume and is expected to occupy a half by 2020, according to He Liming, head of the China Automobile Dealers Association.