China’s EV giant says a shortage of ships is holding back its exports.

China’s BYDiBYDBYD Auto is a Chinese carmaker that became the world’s leading EV manufacturer in 2023, competing with Tesla for market share and global attention.READ MORE is building cars faster than it can export, so it’s adding more ships.

The world’s largest electric vehicle maker will expand its fleet of car-carrying cargo ships to 18 from eight by 2029, according to shipping industry reports. Each new carrier will have the capacity to carry about 9,200 cars and will be built by China Merchants Industry.

Owning its fleet could cut BYD’s cost to ship each car abroad by as much as 40% compared with renting carriers, according to one industry estimate. BYD’s increasing export capacity could help it push further into global markets, intensifying competition for automakers including Tesla and traditional U.S. brands.

Carmakers like BYD, which invested in the sector ahead of the surge, are reaping the rewards of that long-term strategy.”Andrea De Luca, maritime analyst, Veson Nautical

“Carmakers like BYD, which invested in the sector ahead of the surge, are reaping the rewards of that long-term strategy,” Andrea De Luca, a maritime analyst at Boston-based shipping data company Veson Nautical, told Rest of World. “By owning their ships, they can save money compared with chartering at today’s elevated rates, prioritize their most important markets, enter new ones more easily, and depend less on charter market swings.”

BYD did not respond to Rest of World ’s request for comment.

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