BYD reportedly adds ten 9,200-CEU car carriers to nearly double its shipping fleet

BYD has placed an order for ten additional vehicle carriers, each rated at 9,200 car-equivalent units, according to the maritime outlet New Ships and shipping platform Robin Assasfina. Neither the automaker nor the shipbuilder has confirmed the deal, and no contract value has been disclosed. If it goes through, BYD's fleet would grow from eight ships to 18, with combined capacity above 130,000 CEU.

China Merchants Industry is slated to build the vessels at its Jinling and Haimen shipyards, delivering them between 2027 and 2029. Like the existing ships, they will be roll-on/roll-off carriers, meaning vehicles drive aboard under their own power rather than being containerized.

BYD assembled its first eight-ship fleet in under two years, capping it with the BYD Jinan in September 2025; those vessels can move roughly 1 million cars a year, and with the additions CarNewsChina puts annual export capacity at 2.5 million. The fleet also serves overseas plants: in September 2025, the BYD Zhengzhou carried right-hand-drive cars from the company's Thailand factory to the UK, a route that sidesteps the EU's countervailing duties on China-built EVs, under which BYD pays an extra 17% on top of the 10% base tariff.

The shipping expansion comes as exports surge while home-market sales slump. BYD shipped 184,000 passenger cars from China in August, up 131% year-on-year and accounting for 35.4% of the country's passenger NEV exports, with January-August volume reaching 1.127 million, an 88% jump. Domestically, BYD-brand sales fell 35% in August to 184,000 units and are down 43% to 1.15 million for the first eight months of the year.