Environmental Management2/14/2024 · Global

UNEP: Used heavy-duty vehicle exports remain concentrated in high-income economies

According to UN Environment Programme, its report published on 14 February 2024 examines used heavy-duty vehicle exports from Japan, the European Union and the Republic of Korea, alongside import regulations in 146 countries. According to UN Environment Programme, high-income economies remain the principal exporters of these vehicles despite manufacturing shifting toward emerging economies, making the report relevant to environmental management across international vehicle markets.

Attachment — Image: UN Environment Programme

Global policy context

According to UN Environment Programme, the regulatory review covers 122 low- and middle-income countries, placing their import policies within a global assessment of used heavy-duty vehicles. The supplied UN Environment Programme summary does not establish a specific connection to global environmental agreements.

Economic & investment implications

According to UN Environment Programme, China accounts for 67% of global heavy-duty vehicle manufacturing but represented only 8% of used exports in 2020, whereas the EU contributed about 6% of manufacturing and about 46% of used exports, showing that production and resale markets have markedly different geographic concentrations. According to UN Environment Programme, China's export expansion policy has enabled more than 30 cities to export used vehicles globally from 2022; the supplied summary does not quantify resulting investment, employment or GDP effects.

Economy & Investment · data

GDP growth (annual %) — world and regions

Economic growth drives how much material is consumed and discarded — and how much capital is available for recycling capacity.

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Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG), CC BY 4.0.

Key findings

According to UN Environment Programme, the import-policy assessment spans 146 countries, including 122 low- and middle-income economies.
According to UN Environment Programme, the EU supplied about 46% of global used heavy-duty vehicle exports in 2020.
According to UN Environment Programme, China is expanding used-vehicle exports through approvals covering more than 30 cities from 2022.

Research method

According to UN Environment Programme, the report assesses the volume and movement of used heavy-duty vehicles exported by Japan, the EU and the Republic of Korea and examines import regulations across 146 countries. The supplied summary does not specify data-collection procedures or statistical methods.

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