Customs officers inspect imported vehicles at Chenglingji port in central China's Hunan Province on Dec. 20, 2019. (Provided to Xinhua)

CHANGSHA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chenglingji, the only port importing finished automobiles in central China's Hunan Province, has topped China's inland ports in terms of the number of parallel-import autos with 7,616 units handled as of Dec. 15, up 167.9 percent year on year, local customs said on Thursday.

Huang Yangsheng, chief of the Yueyang Customs where the port is located, said the growth benefited from bonded warehousing, which was launched in late 2018 at the port, instead of the previous "taxation on arrival" model.

An inspection line for imported vehicles, which lies near the port, has also obtained qualifications from the customs this year, lowering expenses and shortening inspection time by more than two-thirds.

Prices for parallel-import cars purchased from a foreign production base or auto dealer are lower than the prices offered by authorized dealers, and the bonded warehousing model further reduces operating costs of independent auto dealers. ■