With a market value of around 80 billion US dollars, the Chinese company BYD (Build your Dreams) is currently ranked fourth among the most valuable car manufacturers in the world, very close behind Porsche. Only Toyota and Tesla are still a long way off. But unlike the above-mentioned competition from the West, electric cars are not yet a permanent part of the street scene in many countries. In order to change that, BYD will apparently take the export of its cars into its own hands in the medium term – and is building several of its own ships for this purpose.
The planned sea giants are at least eight so-called RoRo ships (Roll on Roll off), which are specialized as car transporters for vehicles and stand out due to their closed, box-shaped design. These ships are usually operated by shipping companies and the capacities are booked accordingly by the manufacturers. BYD is taking a different approach with its ships.
The speed at which the company is setting up the new logistics shows that the group is serious. For a long time there were only rumors about the planned fleet; the first confirmation was only made in October. And now the “Explorer I”, the company’s first ship, has already completed its first shipyard test trip, which lasted almost a week. This is evident from the ship’s movement data, which can be viewed by relevant tracking service providers, such as “Marinetraffic”.
The trade magazine “Cleantechnica” reports that the first ships will be giants that can hold up to 7,000 vehicles per load. The length is therefore around 200 meters and the width is 38 meters. According to the report, the maximum speed is 18.5 knots, the equivalent of 34.3 km/h. For comparison: The currently largest transporters from the Norwegian shipping company Höegh hold 8,500 cars.
A second shipyard is said to have been commissioned to build even larger freighters – there is talk of space for up to 7,700 vehicles. There are up to ten copies in total. In the long term, the company fleet should help reduce the costs of transporting electric cars and be able to adjust routes if necessary. BYD currently exports around 30,000 vehicles every month all over the world.
Despite the impressive figures – according to the company, BYD sells over 300,000 cars a month – the company’s shares are currently far from their all-time high. In just one month, the company lost $12 billion in market value and its shares fell from around $32 to around $28. In June 2022, the paper was trading at over $40. According to Bloomberg, some analysts are worried that the group will not be able to maintain its growth path given macroeconomic developments.
