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The world’s largest new-generation vehicle manufacturer is to launch the third ship in its planned fleet of eight car carriers. The BYD Hefei, capable of carrying 7,000 cars at a time, will also serve BYD’s export drive in China, with the first delivery to Europe due to start in a few weeks, reports Világgazdaság. The company’s first cargo ship, the Explorer NO. 1 already set sail in 2024.
Chinese company BYD’s export activities could be greatly facilitated by its nascent fleet of ships, the third of which left port in Guangzhou on Wednesday, empty for the time being. The giant car carrier, christened BYD Hefei, was practically completed last September at the CIMC Raffles shipyard in Guangzhou, a subsidiary of China International Marine Containers (CIMC), and has since been undergoing final touches and dock-ready testing.
According to press reports, BYD Hefei’s first voyage is expected to be to Europe, taking five thousand cars to either Bremen or Rotterdam.
The key issue for BYD is to increase its export ratio, which is currently still quite low compared to its total production volume, otherwise it will not be able to use its own capacity.
BYD’s exports are slowly starting to recover, but not at the speed that previous company statements would suggest. In fact, BYD is being hampered by administrative obstacles, such as the EU’s punitive tariffs introduced last July and in force until November 2029, which Brussels is using to eliminate the competitive advantage that China has gained in electric cars with state aid. As a result, BYD electric cars are currently subject to an EU duty of 27%. In light of this, the company’s main market is no longer the European Union, but Latin America and Asia, writes Világgazdaság.
The plan is to sell half of BYD’s production abroad by 2030. This will be facilitated by building factories abroad, such as the one in Szeged (southern Hungary), to cover the regional market locally. The BYD plant in Szeged is the first European car plant of the company, with an investment of several billion euros, capable of producing 300,000 cars per year.
In the meantime, the ships will remain, with BYD ordering a total of eight before the end of the decade. The parameters of the BYD car carriers are as follows:
The Chinese have also already taken on board the tightening emission rules for maritime freight transport, and their giant ships will be equipped with two main fuel tanks filled with liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will be the primary source of energy to keep the ship moving.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured photo via Facebook/BYD