Increasing global demand for electric vehicles means an increase in demand for the vessels that transport them. Last year, we reported that Chinese automakers were, on the whole, looking to dramatically expand the number of cargo ships that they use to bring vehicles overseas. This week, EV manufacturer BYD has readied its latest cargo ship to head out onto the ocean — and it’s one that has the distinction of being the largest on the planet.
Writing at Electrek, Peter Johnson has more details about BYD Shenzhen, a ship capable of carrying 9,200 vehicles from port to port. As Johnson reports, it’s the fourth “Ro-Ro” — short for “roll-on/roll-off” — ship that BYD has added to its fleet since the beginning of last year. Three of those have had the capacity to carry 7,000 ships — an impressive feat, though not quite as impressive as BYD Shenzhen‘s capacity.
As you might guess from this news, BYD has been expanding into a host of new regions. This month alone has brought news of BYD expanding into South Korea as well as into the European market. The latter, according to Reuters, comes via a new compact SUV, the Atto 2.
That said, not all of the news concerning BYD is positive. According to a recent Bloomberg News report (via the Financial Post), one analysis of the company’s finances has shown the potential for significant amounts of debt. That analysis comes from the firm GMT Research, which has raised questions about other massive companies in China over the years as well.
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