China Needs More Ships to Handle Its Rapidly Growing EV Exports

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

China had long been a sort of a sleeping giant in the world economy, though it hasn’t been so sleepy over the last few decades. The country’s tech, automotive, and manufacturing industries have become juggernauts in their respective sectors, and the Chinese auto industry has solidified itself as a global force. Automakers there are exporting so many electric vehicles that China has found its shipping fleet – already the eighth largest in the world – is inadequate to handle the volume.


China is expanding its shipping capabilities to the point that it will become the fourth-largest fleet in the world, and it’s opening new trade routes to accommodate all the action. Companies like BYD, SAIC Motor, Chery, and others have ordered dozens of new ships as the country’s auto industry has overtaken Japan’s as the world’s largest exporter.


Though it’s growing rapidly, the Chinese automotive sector has been criticized by Europe, America, and others for the government’s heavy subsidies that make it unfairly competitive against higher-priced Western models. The U.S. government has made it nearly impossible for Chinese companies to sell vehicles here, though that could always change, and BYD has said that it has no plans to do business here.


Even so, American companies like Tesla face an uphill battle competing with Chinese automakers as it goes back and forth with BYD for world sales records. Pricing remains a challenge for electric vehicles in America for now, though, as no automaker has been able to crack the affordability nut. That, along with the highly polarized political environment here, has slowed EV adoption, so it could only be a matter of time before demand for cheaper Chinese models intensifies.


[Image: Sheila Fitzgerald via Shutterstock]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Apr 12, 2024

    At least two car carrier ships with high end European EV cars aboard have caught fire in the Atlantic, on their way to America. The crews abandoned the ships, since there was no way to stop the fires, and the ships burned until they sank. What shipping company would be stupid enough to ship Chinese EVs across the pacific?

    • VoGhost VoGhost on Apr 12, 2024

      Do you have any credible sources for these fairy tales?


  • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Apr 12, 2024

    What can be more green than shipping an EV half way around the world?

    • VoGhost VoGhost on Apr 12, 2024

      Um, shipping thousands of times as much in oil around the world for each ICE vehicle sold.

      Sometimes, I wonder if any of these people who hate choice in drivetrains experience a single coherent thought before writing.




  • L&L I have a 2004 Xb right now the odometer reads 265,000 miles no mayor issues ,pay 14,500 . you don't need complaints about this lunch box the best .
  • Jeanbaptiste 2022 Tesla model 3 performance ~35000 miles tires - ~$1000ish. Several cabin filters ~$50
  • El scotto No rag-top, no rag-top(s) = not a prestigious car brand. Think it through. All of the high-end Germans and Lexus have rag-tops. Corvette is really its own brand.World-leading engines. AMG, M, S and well Lexus is third-world tough. GM makes one of the best V-8s in the world in Bowling Green. But nooooo, noooo, we're GM only Corvettes get Corvette engines. Balderdash! I say. Put Corvette engines in the top-tier Cadillacs. I know GM could make a world-class 3.5 liter V-6 but they don't or won't. In the interior everything that gets touched, including your butt, has to feel good. No exceptions.Some think that those who pay above MSRP and brag about it are idiots. Go the opposite direction, and offer an extended 10-year 100,000-mile factory warranty. At a reasonable price. That's Acura's current business model.
  • Carrera 2014 Toyota Corolla with 192,000 miles bought new. Oil changes every 5,000 miles, 1 coolant flush, and a bunch of air filters and in cabin air filters, and wipers. On my 4th set of tires.Original brake pads ( manual transmission), original spark plugs. Nothing else...it's a Toyota. Did most of oil changes either free at Toyota or myself. Also 3 batteries.2022 Acura TLX A-Spec AWD 13,000 miles now but bought new.Two oil changes...2006 Hyundai Elantra gifted from a colleague with 318,000 when I got it, and 335,000 now. It needed some TLC. A set of cheap Chinese tires ($275), AC compressor, evaporator, expansion valve package ( $290) , two TYC headlights $120, one battery ( $95), two oil changes, air filters, Denso alternator ( $185), coolant, and labor for AC job ( $200).
  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
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