STORY: Chinese automakers embrace export boom with own shipping fleets
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 14/15, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:51
LOCATION: SHENZHEN, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of BYD vehicles and vehicle carrier vessel

STORYLINE:

"BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.
   
With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it set sail on Tuesday for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.
   
It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets.
   
According to China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), the vessel was built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of CIMC, for international ship management company Zodiac Maritime, and was leased to BYD.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, China's auto exports surged to 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, up 57.4 percent year on year.

To bolster automobile exports, major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Chery, and SAIC, have ventured into establishing their own fleets.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shenzhen, China.
(XHTV)