China is building new ships at record pace to turbocharge its car exports

Chinese shipyards are building large new car transport vessels at an unprecedented pace as China looks to gain greater control over global shipping and help electric vehicle makers such as BYD drive forward their overseas expansion.

The latest hulking ship – capable of carrying 8,600 cars – was reportedly assembled and delivered in just 200 days by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co, with the company delivering the new vessel on Thursday.

The nearly 200-metre-long ro-ro – or “roll on/roll off” – vessel will be operated by a subsidiary of the state-owned conglomerate COSCO, which plans to use the ship to haul Chinese-made cars from Shanghai to ports across Europe on its maiden voyage.

It is part of a broader Chinese strategy to create its own shipping fleet to transport cars around the world, ensuring that China’s carmakers have stable access to transport capacity as they seek to ramp up their exports.

The new vessel is “the largest ship operated by a Chinese shipowner, marking a key step in the strategy of ‘national vehicles and national transport’”, said Li Gang, the Communist Party chief of the ship’s owner, China Citic Financial Leasing, in an official statement.

China’s status as the world’s dominant shipbuilder has become a growing source of concern for the United States, which recently proposed draconian penalties for ports that host Chinese-built vessels.
The latest delivery suggests that China’s shipbuilders are continuing to make progress in terms of efficiency and technological sophistication.

The car carrier has a total deck area of about 75,000 square metres (807,000 square feet), roughly equivalent to 11 standard football fields. But it was built at “China speed”, breaking the industry’s record for the shortest construction cycle, according to Shanghai Waigaoqiao.

It is also the first in a new generation of large Chinese car transport vessels that can be powered by liquefied natural gas as well as traditional marine fuel, the company added.

The ship’s maiden voyage will see it carry more than 5,700 vehicles – both cars and construction vehicles – from Shanghai to major European ports including Bristol in the United Kingdom, Zeebrugge in Belgium and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is expected to ease the shortage of shipping capacity on European routes, “injecting powerful momentum from China’s manufacturing sector into the global automotive trade”, the statement read.

China has rapidly emerged as the world’s top car exporter over the past few years, with the country’s auto exports surging 23 per cent year on year to reach 6.41 million in 2024, according to Chinese customs data.
The rapid increase in car exports has led to a shortage in supplies of ro-ro ships, which are the main transport method used in the auto industry.

Chinese car makers including BYD, Chery and SAIC have established their own fleets in recent years, aiming to reduce costs and stabilise their operations through an “independent shipping” strategy.

In January, the first car carrier ordered directly by BYD – a new LNG-powered dual-fuel vessel with a capacity of 7,000 units – embarked on its maiden voyage.

Source: South China Morning Post

Sharing is caring!