BYD ordered four ultra-large car carriers
China’s auto export transportation market will continue to boom. According to reports, BYD recently signed a shipbuilding agreement with two shipyards, ordering a total of four 9,400 CEU LNG dual-fuel ultra-large pure car truck carriers (PCTC). The total value of the order is at least $400 million, and the new ships are expected to be delivered successively in 2025. The current largest PCTC in the world is the Aurora class of the Norwegian shipping company Hoegh Autoliners, with a designed loading capacity of 9,100 CEU. The 9400 CEU ship ordered by BYD will become the world’s largest PCTC.
There has been news of BYD’s entry into the field of automobile transportation for a long time. In July this year, it was reported that BYD was planning to order up to eight 7,700 CEU liquefied natural gas dual-fuel PCTCs to meet the transportation needs to be brought about by its rapid overseas expansion. It is still uncertain whether the 9400 CEU ship ordered by BYD was included in the shipbuilding plan at that time, but it is certain that BYD’s building its own car transport fleet has become one of its important strategies.
According to BYD’s third-quarter performance report, its revenue from operations in the third quarter was ￥117.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 115.6%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was ￥5.72 billion, a year-on-year increase of 350.3%. In the first three quarters, BYD’s revenue from operations was ￥267.69 billion, a year-on-year increase of 84.4%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was ￥9.31 billion, a year-on-year increase of 281.1%. The sharp increase in performance is the confidence of BYD to build ships; the tight shipping capacity and the large increase in export volume are also urgent needs of BYD shipbuilding.
Not only BYD, but the surge in China’s automobile exports have also driven the boom in the automobile transportation market. Automobile manufacturers have participated in the transportation of the automobile market, or reached strategic cooperation with shipping companies. In August this year, Cosco Shipping Special Transport, Shanghai International Port Group Logistics, and SAIC Anji Logistics jointly invested in the establishment of a new company in Guangzhou. In October, Cosco Shipping Group transferred 5.00% of the shares held by Cosco Shipping Holdings to SAIC Logistics. The 5.82% shares of SAIC Logistics held by it were transferred to Cosco Shipping free of charge, and the two parties realized cross-shareholding. In November, Cosco Shipping Group and China FAW Group Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will jointly create a leading global supplier of the automotive industry through joint cooperation, expansion of emerging markets, innovation of business models, and realization of resource sharing.
Just at the end of November, China also launched the first Shanghai-Persian Gulf shipment, which provides twice-a-month liner shipping services. The company said that in order to alleviate the problem of insufficient capacity, it has launched a new shipbuilding plan. From the second half of 2024, more than 15 large PCTCs of 7000-8600 CEU will be successively put into operation. China’s automobile export and transportation market will continue to be booming. In the future, the cooperation between leading shipping companies and leading automobile manufacturers will continue to strengthen. At the same time, there will be more “players” joining this new track.
