Business · Companies · 8 hrs ago
BYD plans to expand its car-carrying fleet to 18 ships by 2029
Chinese carmaker BYD plans to grow its cargo fleet from eight ships to 18 by 2029.
Each new ship is expected to carry about 9,200 cars.
BYD began building its own carriers after a shortage of shipping space held back exports.
Wars and disrupted routes have raised shipping costs, with a car carrier renting for $95,000 a day, up from $50,000 in February.
Owning ships could cut BYD’s cost per exported car by as much as 40% compared with renting, according to one industry estimate.
BYD aims to sell 2.5 million cars overseas next year, up from a target of 1.9 million to 2 million this year.
More shipping capacity could help BYD enter markets and compete with Tesla and traditional U.S. automakers.
BYD plans to expand its car-carrying fleet from eight ships to 18 by 2029, according to shipping industry reports.
Each new carrier is expected to carry about 9,200 cars and be built by China Merchants Industry.
Owning ships could reduce BYD’s cost of shipping each car abroad by as much as 40% compared with renting carriers, one industry estimate says.
The expansion comes as conflict-related disruptions have raised freight costs and forced ships onto longer routes.
BYD aims to sell more than 2.5 million cars overseas next year, up from a target of 1.9 million to 2 million this year.
- Who
- BYD, the Chinese carmaker.
- What
- It plans to expand its car-carrying fleet from eight ships to 18 by 2029.
- When
- By 2029.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Owning ships could reduce shipping costs and give BYD more control over shipping space and routes as freight costs rise.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
BYD announced a $687 million plan to build its own car carriers.
BYD put eight car carriers into service.
BYD told investors that a shortage of shipping capacity had held back its exports.
BYD sold 180,700 cars outside China, more than double the number a year earlier.
BYD plans to expand its car-carrying fleet to 18 ships.
- Fleet now
- Eight car carriers
- Fleet target
- 18 ships by 2029
- Capacity of each new carrier
- About 9,200 cars
- Shipbuilder
- China Merchants Industry
- Overseas sales in September
- 180,700 cars
What people are saying
By owning their ships, they can save money compared with chartering at today’s elevated rates, prioritize their most important markets, enter new ones more easily, and depend less on charter market swings.
The very strong growth in Chinese exports, fueling strong Asia-Europe fronthaul demand growth, is the biggest single factor behind the increase in charter rates.