BYD has reportedly ordered 10 more large vehicle carriers, potentially more than doubling the size of the shipping fleet used to move its cars to overseas markets.
Maritime publication New Ships and shipping platform Robban Assafina reported that the Chinese carmaker had commissioned ten 9,200 car-equivalent-unit pure car and truck carriers, or PCTCs, from China Merchants Industry.
The ships are expected to be built at China Merchants Industry’s Jinling and Haimen yards, with deliveries spread from 2027 to 2029.
No contract value was disclosed. BYD and China Merchants Industry have not publicly announced the reported order.
If completed, the 10 ships would add a combined 92,000 CEU of vehicle-carrying capacity. CEU is a standard measure of space aboard car carriers, although actual loads vary according to the size and mix of vehicles transported.
New Ships and Robban Assafina said BYD’s dedicated shipping fleet would increase from eight vessels to 18, with combined capacity exceeding 130,000 CEU.
The additional ships would give BYD substantially more capacity to move vehicles directly to overseas markets as its international sales grow. They would also reduce its reliance on available space aboard third-party vehicle carriers.
BYD is already using vessels with capacity of around 9,200 CEU. BYD Shenzhen, delivered in April 2025, was built by China Merchants Jinling and measures 219.9 metres long and 37.7 metres wide.
The vessel uses liquefied natural gas and fuel-oil dual-fuel propulsion. Three other ships from the same 9,200-CEU programme are BYD Xi’an, BYD Changsha and BYD Jinan.
However, not all eight vessels currently dedicated to BYD are directly owned by the carmaker.
BYD Explorer No.1 and BYD Changzhou, for example, are operated by Zodiac Maritime under long-term charter arrangements.
If the latest order proceeds as reported, BYD would have 18 vessels available for its vehicle-export operations by the end of the decade, giving the carmaker considerably more control over the logistics supporting its overseas expansion.
