Guangzhou Shipyard held an undocking ceremony on September 20 for the BYD Hefei, a 7,000-vehicle car carrier built for BYD.
A new car carrier for BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) is ready for operation as the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker continues to expand its presence in international markets.
On September 20, Guangzhou Shipyard International Co Ltd held an undocking ceremony for the 7,000-vehicle dual-fuel ro-ro vehicle vessel built for BYD Hong Kong Ltd, the shipyard said in a September 21 statement.
Undocking means the vessel has completed construction and is ready to begin its career at sea. After leaving the dock, the new vessel will likely undergo a series of tests to ensure that its performance and safety meet standards.
The vessel is capable of carrying 7,000 vehicles and utilizes a dual-fuel propulsion system of natural gas (LNG) and fuel oil to meet the loading requirements for both fuel and electric vehicles, according to the statement.
This is the first of two car carriers that Guangzhou Shipyard is building for BYD, and is the beginning of a partnership between the two, the shipyard said.
The vessel has a length of 199.9 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a design draft of 9 meters and a design speed of 18.5 knots (34 kilometers per hour), according to the statement.
Guangzhou Shipyard's statement did not mention it, but CnEVPost has learnt that the vessel is called BYD Hefei, named after the city where the one of the NEV maker's factories is located.
BYD may continue to name its vehicle carriers after the cities where its factories are located.
The BYD Hefei is the second BYD vehicle carrier that has been made public, and appears to be the first vessel for which BYD is the owner.
On January 15, BYD announced that its first vehicle carrier, BYD Explorer No. 1, completed loading vehicles at Yantai Port in Shandong and Xiaomo Port in Shenzhen and set sail.
It's worth noting that BYD Explorer No.1 is not owned by BYD; it was built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of state-owned China International Marine Containers (CIMC), for international shipping company Zodiac Maritime.
BYD has seven other ro-ro vessels in operation over the next two years, the company said at the time.
BYD Explorer No.1 is also a 7,000-CEU (car equivalent unit) car carrier with an overall length of 199.9 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a design draft of 8.6 meters and a design speed of 19 knots.
The vessel has already completed two European voyages, the latest of which took it to the Spanish port of Santander a month ago.
BYD has become the world's largest NEV maker, selling 2,328,449 NEVs in January-August this year, up 29.92 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The company sold 264,869 units overseas in January-August, up 125.46 percent year-on-year.
BYD's efforts to expand into global markets will see a key milestone in 2026, when full-year deliveries are expected to reach 6 million units, JPMorgan analyst Nick Lai's team said in a July 9 research note.
By 2026, BYD's global deliveries will reach 6 million units, with about 1.5 million in overseas markets and the rest at home, the team said.
BYD's 1st car carrier sets sail fully loaded, 7 more to join fleet in next 2 years
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