Chinese automaker BYD has completed its fleet of eight roll-on/roll-off vessels, achieving an annual transport capacity exceeding one million vehicles. The company’s final carrier, BYD Jinan, entered service last week, marking the culmination of a project that began in January 2024 with the delivery of BYD Explorer No.1. All vessels in the fleet are RoRo ships, capable of carrying between 7,200 and 9,000 cars each, depending on the specific vessel design.
The current fleet consists of BYD Explorer No.1, BYD Hefei, BYD Changzhou, BYD Shenzhen, BYD Xi’an, BYD Changsha, BYD Zhengzhou and BYD Jinan. Seven of these vessels are already active on international routes: BYD Hefei is unloading cars in Europe before heading back to China, and BYD Xi’an is scheduled to arrive in Barcelona later this week; BYD Shenzhen and BYD Changsha are also en route to European ports.
In a notable development, BYD Zhengzhou recently transported right-hand-drive models from its Thailand plant to the United Kingdom and is now on course to unload in Belgium, according to MarineTraffic data shared by industry analyst Felix Hamer. This marks the first time the company has exported vehicles from Thailand, a move that helps BYD avoid the additional 17% countervailing tariff imposed on Chinese-made electric vehicles by the European Union.
Beyond China and Thailand, BYD has been expanding its global manufacturing footprint through knock-down kit operations. Production of the Seagull hatchback began in Brazil in July 2025. In Europe, BYD’s Hungary facility in Szeged is under construction, with mass production slated for 2026. The company is also developing assembly operations in Pakistan, expected online in 2026, and initiated local assembly in Uzbekistan in June 2024. These plants are part of BYD’s strategy to increase localization of its products.
As domestic sales in China declined in August—down 22% to 284,005 vehicles—BYD’s overseas deliveries rose by 157%, reaching 80,813 units. The company aims to generate 20% of its 2025 sales volume from markets outside China, targeting the export of one million vehicles. From January through September 2025, BYD exported 697,072 cars.
Source: Car News China
