The “big policy day” for the vehicle modification industry has arrived: nine government departments have issued documents, with the Ministry of Commerce setting the tone

June 23, 2026, is a memorable date for domestic car enthusiasts and modification practitioners in China.

On this day, nine government departments including the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the Several Measures for Cultivating and Expanding Consumption in the Automobile Aftermarket. Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, delivered an official interpretation at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office. Six major sectors including auto modification, RV camping, classic vintage cars and motorsports have been officially incorporated into the national-level “Aftermarket 2.0” policy, which consists of 17 specific measures in total.

Sheng Qiuping stated verbatim: “The aftermarket built around vehicle usage forms an industry worth trillions of yuan… More than 50 percent of passenger cars in China are over seven years old on average, marking the arrival of a period of rapid growth for the aftermarket.”

In other words, no matter how well new cars sell, the real next growth stage lies in the “aftermarket”. Within this aftermarket, auto modification has for the first time been singled out at the national level with a clear development roadmap covering tiered and categorized management, a catalogue of permitted modification items, CCC certification for auto parts, a technical subcommittee for vehicle modification standards, and supporting procedures for registration changes during annual vehicle inspections.

How long have industry insiders waited for this moment? Li Shufu of Geely has advocated for this for seven years, while Lei Jun and other figures have continuously spoken up for the modification industry. The vision of “taking auto modification out of the grey market” is no longer just a slogan, but an official written policy document.

What does this mean for three groups of people? For customers of modification brands — from a “grey market business” to a trillion-yuan new blue ocean

In the past, the biggest headache for car modification brands was their lack of legitimate status: no matter how good their products were, the industry lacked unified standards, official product catalogues and formal certifications, leaving them operating on a knife-edge everywhere they went.

The official document jointly issued by nine government departments has explicitly outlined the following measures:

• Study and establish an access licensing system for auto parts used in vehicle modification

• Study and improve the CCC certification system for auto parts

• Accelerate the formulation of a set of national standards and technical specifications for vehicle modification

These measures are equivalent to issuing official identity certificates to law-abiding modification brands. Any brand that takes the lead in complying with standards, obtaining certifications and entering pilot cities will capture the first wave of policy dividends. The thousands of major brands gathered at the APAxpo event are exactly the enterprises that have made preparations well in advance.

For auto modification shops, the pain points of “being unable to modify and lacking the know-how to modify” will be resolved with state support. The clause in the document that “proposes tiered and categorized management to address the issues hindering and complicating auto modifications” is essentially targeted at modification shops.

■ Once the list of permissible modification items is finalized, clear rules will be established regarding what can be modified, how modifications are carried out, how inspections are conducted, and how registration changes are processed.

■ Forty pilot cities for the reform of automobile circulation and consumption will take the lead in rolling out the new policies. Cities with mature auto modification industries (namely those in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta) will be the first to reap the policy benefits.

■ The policy encourages “technical exchanges between institutions engaged in motorsports and civilian auto modification enterprises”, which essentially opens up a technical transfer channel from motorsports to civilian modification for modification shops.

The network of more than 500 city operators of APAxpo precisely covers key industry players in these pilot cities. Once regulatory restrictions are relaxed, the shops run by these operators will be the first to receive the influx of customers.

For automotive enthusiasts — authorities have highlighted that “niche hobbies” should be turned into “mainstream options”. The original policy text reads: “Expand consumption scenarios and promote the transformation of ‘niche hobbies’ into ‘mainstream options'”. The list of supported activities includes car modification, motor races, vintage classic cars, and RV camping.

In plain language:

■ Future vehicle inspections and registration changes for modified cars will follow standardized checklists instead of arbitrary judgments.

■ JDM vehicles, vintage cars from Hong Kong and Macao, and classic performance cars you are fond of are categorized as emerging forms of traditional classic cars to be fostered.

■ Track days, all-star drifting experiences, and classic car appraisal competitions you wish to participate in are recognized by the state as motor sports to be vigorously developed.

classic vintage cars” → Dedicated zones in Hall 1 featuring selected Hong Kong and Macau vintage classics, iconic JDM vehicles and German performance powerhouses host the first offline showcase of the classic car industry.
The policy highlights the dual development of “auto modification and auto beauty/vehicle wrapping” → Hall 2 stages the ACBC Asian Trend Auto Beauty Masters Competition and Asian Vehicle Wrapping Championship with a total prize pool of 200,000 RMB, forming a top-tier platform dedicated to the aesthetic segment of the auto modification aftermarket.
The policy launches “pilot implementation across 40 trial cities” → APA has established a network of over 500 city managers covering these pilot regions.

Simply put: Policies grant permission for enthusiasts to engage in the hobby, while APA creates a stage for their passion to gain widespread recognition.

One delivers institutional dividends, the other offers scenario-based dividends. Their convergence will unfold over three days in Foshan this October 2026.