BYD "spends billions" to build ships and go to sea! BYD's first response

As more information was exposed, BYD, which had been silent on the company's shipbuilding and ship purchases, finally confirmed the relevant facts. Behind BYD's official confirmation is the rapid growth of China's new energy vehicle exports, coupled with the recovery of global automobile trade volume, and the increasing demand for car transport ships.

BYD's first batch of vehicle transport ships will be delivered next year through a combination of lease and purchase

"The company has rented two ro-ro transport ships from Yantai, Shandong, and the delivery time is next year." On December 8, BYD responded to a reporter from the Financial Associated Press. At the same time, BYD also confirmed that the company "is indeed buying ships," but did not disclose specific information. The EXPLORER No. 1 car ro-ro transport ship, one of BYD's so-called "rental" ships, was recently revealed to have successfully completed its first seven-day trial in the waters of Yantai, Shandong. Relevant videos show that the white hull of the ship is printed with the red BYD LOGO. In addition, there is also an obvious BYD logo above the deck.

As early as October last year, there was news in the industry that a BYD affiliated company would order eight ro-ro ships capable of carrying 7,700 cars at a shipyard in Yantai, Shandong. The total cost is nearly 5 billion yuan. Among them, it is basically confirmed that the 6 ships, and the other 2 ships are option orders.

Although BYD did not comment on this at the time, according to an interview video of the CIMC Raffles Longkou manufacturing base released in September this year by the "Longkou Media Center", a subsidiary of Shandong Longkou Radio and Television Station, there was a scene in the background. BYD's LOGO appeared on a large ship under construction. In addition, according to an interview conducted by the media in October last year with relevant staff of CIMC Raffles Longkou Manufacturing Base, the first ship of the 6500-car parking space PCC series with a total length of 199.95 meters and a width of 37 meters and a total length of 199.90 meters and a width of 38 meters were announced. The first ship of the PCTC series with 7,000 parking spaces is under construction.

BYD's "shipbuilding" plan was first exposed in July last year. At that time, according to market news, BYD would build six or up to eight LNG dual-fuel pure car carriers PCTC with a capacity of 7,700 vehicles. If the cost of a single ship is US million, BYD will invest at least US2 million (approximately RMB 3.5 billion). The source also said that BYD has currently had discussions with at least three shipyards, including Huangpu Wenchong and China Merchants Jinling, and is expected to deliver them one after another after 2025.

Just like it did not comment on the rumors of ordering eight car ro-ro ships at the Yantai Shipyard in Shandong last October, BYD also did not comment on the news in July last year. However, on November 6 this year, Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, announced that the No. 1 ship of BYD’s 7,000-car dual-fuel car carrier (PCTC) project would start construction in Nansha, Guangzhou.

According to Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, the BYD 7000 dual-fuel PCTC ship has a total length of 199.9 meters, a width of 38 meters, a design draft of 9 meters, and a design speed of 18.5 knots. It adopts a natural gas (LNG)/fuel dual-fuel propulsion system to meet the requirements of smart ships, and For the first time, it is equipped with a battery system and a shaft generator, and also adopts various energy-saving measures such as energy-saving devices, drag-reducing and anti-fouling paint. A total of 2 ships are planned to be built in this project.

BYD's frequent ship building and purchase is undoubtedly related to its overseas expansion strategy. The November production and sales report shows that from January to November, BYD exported a total of 206,670 vehicles. According to public information, BYD's new energy passenger vehicles have now entered 58 overseas countries and regions including Germany, Japan, France, Brazil, Australia, and Alance.