BYD’s second freighter, the BYD Changzhou, has been put into service. BYD General Manager Wang Junbao announced that BYD’s second ro-ro ship went into service immediately after delivery.
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The ship is 199.9 meters long and has a maximum capacity of 7,000 vehicles. The ship is currently en route to Europe with almost 5,000 BYD vehicles for export. BYD Changzhou was launched in Yantai, Shandong in October 2024 and is BYD’s second car carrier vessel after BYD Hefei. The new ship underwent a sea trial on November 16.
Ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ships are cargo ships designed to transport wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, buses and rail cars. Vehicles are driven off the ship on their own wheels or with another platform vehicle. BYD operates three ro-ro vessels: BYD Explorer No.1, which is leased, and the BYD Hefei and BYD Changzhou, which are owned and operated by BYD.
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BYD launched its first ship named BYD Explorer No.1 in January to export Chinese-built vehicles on board. However, that ship is not owned by BYD, but is owned by the international shipping company Zodiac Maritime and leased exclusively to BYD.
The BYD Hefei is the first ship owned and operated by BYD, named after the BYD Hefei factory. The ship was first launched on September 20 and was built by Guangzhou Shipyard International. The BYD Changzhou is also named after BYD’s Changzhou factory, which started production in 2022. The ship was built by CIMC Raffles and left port to be delivered to BYD on November 29.
In November, BYD sold 506,804 NEVs, up 67.86% year-on-year. BYD sold a total of 3,757,336 vehicles in 2024, an increase of 40.02% from 2023. The company sold 30,977 units overseas, of which 28,141 were exported from China. BYD plans to launch seven more ro-ro ships as part of the company’s international expansion.
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Sources: ITHome