BEIJING: A dual-fuel car carrier with a capacity of packing 8,600 vehicles was delivered in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, South China on Thursday.
This vessel is an upgraded version of its predecessor, designed to carry 1,600 more vehicles without altering its dimensions, enhancing China’s ability to support automobile exports, according to CCTV News.
Built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Ltd, the vessel measures 200 meters in length and 38 meters in width, with 14 decks, which car hold 8,600 passenger cars.
It also features five adjustable decks to accommodate a variety of cargo, including construction machinery and specialized equipment. This new model is an enhanced version of the previous 7,000-vehicle dual-fuel car carrier.
The shipbuilder has received about 40 orders for car carriers to date, with 13 already delivered. Through process optimization and upgraded production equipment, the company set a new record by delivering the vessel over eight months ahead of schedule, achieving internationally leading efficiency.
Last year, the company delivered a 7,000-vehicle car carrier for Chinese automaker BYD, marking a key milestone in the development of BYD’s “green and low-carbon upgrade 2.0” vehicle transport series, the shipbuilder said.
In 2024, East China’s Shanghai Port handled a ro-ro throughput of 3.63 million vehicles, a 15 percent increase year-on-year, securing its position as the world’s top automotive throughput hub for the first time, the CCTV News citing data from the General Administration of Customs.
Notably, over 60 percent of this throughput consisted of foreign trade vehicles. Shanghai Port currently operates 15 international automotive ro-ro routes, connecting 289 ports across 131 countries and regions.
On Wednesday, more than 4,000 domestically produced vehicles from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region left Tianjin Port, North China’s largest automotive import and export hub. These vehicles, bound for South America and other markets, setting a record for the largest single-vessel foreign trade shipment of finished vehicles from Tianjin Port, according to CCTV News.
In addition, XPeng Motors marked a significant milestone in its international expansion on Saturday, with the shipment of its first batch of 300 right-hand drive X9 vehicles from Guangzhou’s Nansha Port to Thailand. This shipment highlights a major step forward for both XPeng and other Chinese automakers, according to the company’s official WeChat account.
Meanwhile, SAIC’s IM Motors dispatched its IM6 models, tailored for overseas markets, from Shanghai Port on Saturday, marking the beginning of their global expansion, with Thailand as the starting point. The IM6 is scheduled for launch in Thailand in mid-to-late March, with sales set to begin at the Thailand International Motor Expo on March 24, the company told the Global Times.
“While EV penetration in ASEAN remains relatively low, the market is growing rapidly. New products can quickly enter and be widely accepted, making ASEAN a core market for the future,” said Gu Hongdi, Vice Chairman and Co-President of XPeng Motors. The February shipment marked the company’s 255th overseas delivery, expanding to over 30 countries and regions in the past five years.
In 2024, China’s automobile export volume exceeded 6.4 million units, maintaining its position as the world’s largest automobile exporter.
