Chinese automakers and shipping companies are ordering more ships than ever before to transport electric vehicles (EVs) for export. This means that by 2028, China could have the world’s fourth-largest fleet of car-carrying vessels.
Right now, China has the eighth-largest fleet in the world, with 33 car-carrying ships. But they have ordered 47 more ships, which is a quarter of all the orders globally. These ships will be used by companies like SAIC Motor, Chery Automobile, and BYD, as well as shipping companies COSCO and China Merchants.
“After these ships are delivered, China’s car carrier fleet will become much bigger,” said Veson analyst Andrea de Luca. “We expect to see new shipping routes that are mainly used by Chinese car companies.”
Most of these new orders are going to Chinese shipyards, which are getting 82% of all the orders globally.
Automakers are expanding into new markets because competition is tough at home, and they can make more money selling cars abroad. Last year, China became the biggest exporter of cars, beating Japan.
Companies like BYD are exporting a lot of cars. BYD exported over 240,000 cars in 2023, which is about 8% of all the cars it sold globally. They plan to export even more this year.
Other companies like Tesla and Volkswagen are also making cars in China to export them to other countries.
Shipping costs are going up, so automakers are buying their ships. It costs a lot more to rent a ship now than it did in 2019.
But some people are worried that China is making too many cars and ships. The U.S. and EU think China is selling too many cars in their markets at low prices. China’s government says this is not true and that they are just trying to make better cars.
China’s economy is growing fast, but some people are worried that there will be too many ships and cars. The U.S. Treasury Secretary and China’s Minister of Commerce are talking about this issue.
