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to set up European vehicle plants.“ It’ s also a necessity, to replace the market share our traditional European OEMs seem to lose to the Chinese OEMs.”
But Svenningsen also remained cautious, pointing out the further erosion of market share by European car makers to Chinese competitors could also negatively affect short-sea volumes.
“ It depends entirely on the locations of these plants,” he told the Journal of Commerce.“ With the reduced cost of some of the Chinese vehicles that will be sold in Europe, this may push up total car sales, and this will definitely bolster our business.”
UECC in March placed an order for two pure car and truck carriers( PCTCs) with a capacity of 3,000 car equivalent units( CEUs) that are“ intended to enhance capacity and flexibility in European short-sea trade,” according to a statement from the carrier. Those ships join two 4,500-CEU PCTCs already on order and are scheduled for delivery in early 2028. Germany-based KESS placed an order for four 1,380- CEU car carriers in early June that are also“ designed for the frequent transport of small lots in European short-sea shipping,” parent company“ K” Line said in a statement.
“ With the reduced cost of some of the Chinese vehicles that will be sold in Europe, this may push up total car sales.” the first of its cars from a $ 4 billion factory in Szeged will start rolling off the production line late this year.
BYD’ s Hungary facility and Leapmotor’ s plants in Madrid and Zaragoza, Spain, will supply European markets, bolstering short-sea volumes for operators like United European Car Carriers( UECC),“ K” Line European Sea Highway Services( KESS) and Höegh Autoliners.
“ For UECC, this is a great opportunity,” Bjorn Gran Svenningsen, UECC sales and marketing director, said of the move by Chinese original equipment manufacturers( OEMs)
Chinese car and truck exports skyrocketed 63 % through May, outpacing prior projections. Vladimir Tretyakov / Shutterstock. com
CMA CGM subsidiary CEVA Logistics signed a memorandum of understanding to support Chery’ s growing international development. Under the pact, CEVA will provide domestic distribution, international transport and multimodal operations for finished vehicles, automotive parts and electric vehicle batteries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.
Fletcher said it is“ very likely” that the investments so far are just the beginning and that other major Chinese automakers could likewise be interested in building up manufacturing abroad.
“ Decisions will be largely dependent on both the sales volumes they are generating in the region, and the types of partnerships they are establishing,” he said.
The expansion into Europe’ s mature car market comes as Chinese automakers have spent a great deal of effort and continue to focus on developing assembly plants in regions that are still developing or where there is still considerable room for growth.
Fletcher said these include Southeast Asia, South America, India and South Africa, where automakers are using a similar strategy as in Europe. He said Chery has acquired production capacity in South Africa, while SAIC / MG is developing local partnerships with JSW Group in India, and Geely with Renault Group in South America. BYD is making its own investments locally in Thailand, he added.
email: keithwallis @ hotmail. com www. joc. com July 6, 2026 | Journal of Commerce 37