BEIJING - Used car sales fostered new highlights in China's automobile market in 2021, with the growth of trade volume and value both over 20 percent year on year, data from the China Passenger Car Association shows.

More than 17.58 million used cars changed hands last year, up 22.62 percent year on year, despite the challenges of the pandemic, extreme weather, lowered consumption expectations and surging risks of global supply chains, according to the association.

The combined value for the transactions soared 27.32 percent over one year earlier to top 1.13 trillion yuan (about $178 billion) during the period.

The trade of used cars is key to invigorate China's automobile market, which facilitates urban consumption upgrade and promotes consumption in the rural areas, the association noted.

It is optimistic about the market prospect, citing the country's multiple policies on booming used car consumption, such as implementing preferential tax policies and facilitating cross-region transfer.