Earlier this month, a large vessel picked up more than 5,000 electric vehicles from two ports in northern and southern China. Five days later, it is now heading to India via Singapore. However, the final destination is Europe, where most of the cars will be sold.
The vessel's name is BYD Explorer No.1. It is the first of a large number of ships being built by BYD, reflecting the Chinese company's ambitions to establish a sailing business that will support its new role in the global automotive trade.
Demand for BYD cars is increasing overseas. BYD exported more than 240,000 vehicles in 2023, up from 55,000 in 2022. But we ran into a problem. Exploding in popularity overseas, you will need to expand beyond the automobile trade into shipping to reap the greatest financial benefits. Read the full story.
—Jay Yang
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