A recent auction of government cars in Central China's Henan Province has fueled heated controversy after they were sold at extremely low prices, prompting experts to call for transparency to prevent the loss of state assets.

A total of 43 used government cars were auctioned in Zhongmou county, Zhengzhou, at an average price of around 9,000 yuan ($1,410) on June 30, with some sold for less than the appraised prices.

The government-initiated auction sparked heated debate after the Zhengzhou Daily on Friday hailed it as a move that led to a 53.2 percent appreciation of state assets.

Despite an explanation from the local government that the vehicles were gas-guzzlers in poor condition, skepticism over the deal mounted during the following days as more inconsistencies were revealed.

Media reports later revealed that the auction's appraiser and auctioneer turned out to be the same person, while auction law requires their duties to be conducted by separate people to guarantee the fairness of the process.

To quell public outrage, the local authorities and the auction house released over the weekend detailed information on the 43 cars, which were sold at 390,110 yuan in total, including the car plate numbers, models, the appraisal prices and contracted prices.

However, the video of the whole auction process was not uploaded to the website of the Henan Provincial Auction House until Monday.

An employee with the Henan provincial disciplinary inspection authorities told the Global Times Monday they are "paying attention to" the auction.

Although there have been repeated denials of wrongdoing from both the authorities and the auction house, experts said the matter has highlighted the loopholes in reforms associated with the sale of government vehicles, which could lead to backdoor deals.

Wang Yukai, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that the auction had contained "misconduct" and said that those in charge should be held responsible if government assets were sold at artificially reduced prices.

Ye Qing, a National People's Congress deputy who has been studying the government vehicle issue, said the Zhongmou government's explanations came too late to assuage public doubts and auctions conducted without transparency could lead to private deals and individuals benefiting from state assets.

Auctions of government vehicles were launched in several cities including Beijing years ago as a step to push forward reform in this field.

The same initiative, when launched in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, drew public attention when 215 government cars were auctioned on June 24 for about 10.6 million yuan.

Though the final selling prices were almost double the minimum bidding prices (which totaled around 6.45 million yuan), the auction also prompted controversy with many wondering whether these used cars were overly devalued compared to their original sale prices.

Ye told the Global Times that information on the vehicles to be auctioned should be unveiled earlier to solicit public opinion, including the purchasing prices, their service duration and how the bidding prices were reached, so that the deals could be conducted in a transparent and fair way.

"Related regulations regarding such auctions should be established to avoid similar problems nationwide," Ye noted.