【By Chen Sijia, Observer News】In recent years, China's new energy vehicle industry has experienced vigorous development, sweeping the international market with advanced technology and affordable prices. According to a report by the UK's Financial Times on November 9, the world's largest ro-ro shipping operator, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, said that Chinese companies have entered a new phase of innovation and expansion, and European automakers with insufficient competitiveness are rapidly losing global market share.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen CEO Lasse Kristoffersen said that while European automakers face a "triple blow" of declining sales in the Chinese market, weak demand in Europe, and increased tariffs in the United States, the export volume of cars from China to Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Australia is experiencing a significant increase.

He told analysts: "China wins market share because of its self-innovation. Chinese manufacturers have transformed from cost leaders into technology leaders."

April 16, 2024, Vitoria Port in Brazil, Wallenius Wilhelmsen ro-ro ship unloads BYD electric vehicles IC photo

AlixPartners, a consulting company, reported that China's car exports increased by 23% last year, reaching 6.4 million units, more than 50% higher than Japan, which ranked second. The company expects that, driven by growth in emerging markets, the share of Chinese manufacturers in the global market will rise from 21% last year to 30% by 2030.

The New York Times said that when European and American automakers struggle to transition to electrification, China quickly captures the market with more advanced technology and lower prices than competitors like Tesla, making Chinese electric vehicles particularly attractive in developing countries with weaker purchasing power.

Data from German Schmitz Automotive Research also showed that Chinese automakers such as BYD, Chery, and SAIC are rapidly expanding in Western Europe, accounting for 5.7% of new car sales in the first nine months of this year, up from 3.2% in the same period last year. In the European electric vehicle market, the share of Chinese brands is even higher, reaching over 10% in the past nine months.

The Financial Times pointed out that Wallenius Wilhelmsen's past business mainly involved transporting products from Western automakers to China, but in recent years, this Norwegian ro-ro shipping operator has begun helping emerging Chinese automakers expand into overseas markets to increase revenue. Kristoffersen said that European manufacturers find it difficult to compete with Chinese companies and are rapidly losing global market share.

BYD is the world's largest and fastest-growing electric vehicle manufacturer, and is assembling a fleet of eight ro-ro ships to transport cars around the globe.

SAIC Group announced in 2022 that it had formally signed an agreement with China Shipbuilding Group, and Jiangnan Shipyard of China Shipbuilding will "customize" ocean-going car carrier ships for SAIC's Anji Logistics. By the end of 2026, SAIC Group's self-operated car carrier fleet is expected to reach 14 ships, with an average construction cost of about $100 million per ship, and the total investment in the fleet will be in the range of billions of yuan.

Kristoffersen said he does not think that BYD or other clients will become competitors of Wallenius Wilhelmsen in the shipping sector, but Chinese shipping companies may increase their investments in automobile transportation.

In recent years, with the rapid growth of China's car exports, insufficient maritime capacity has become a major challenge for Chinese automakers in exporting.

Jin Qi, General Manager of SAIC Anji Logistics, said in an interview with media such as First Finance last year that China's car exports were about one million units at the end of 2020, and by 2023, this figure had approached five million units, nearly quadrupling in three years. However, shipbuilding is a long-cycle industry and cannot be built quickly, so the growth rate of car carrier ships is far behind the speed of exports, leading to a shortage of car export capacity.

According to data from the consulting firm Clarkson, from August 2020 to the end of November 2023, the daily rent for a 6,500 standard container car carrier ship rose from $10,000 to $115,000, a tenfold increase.

Kristoffersen said: "According to our communication with Chinese customers, they purchase and build ships because they are worried about not being able to obtain capacity. Now this concern is easing... Therefore, there will be Chinese shipping companies participating in the competition, but the possibility of our customers becoming our competitors is not high."

As Chinese electric vehicles continue to expand their market share overseas, some Western countries are trying to take measures to hinder China's car exports. The U.S. has imposed restrictions on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, while the EU has raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian previously stated that the electric vehicle industry is a globalized industry, and only through division of labor and cooperation can mutual benefits be achieved. Only through fair competition can technological progress be achieved. Using the names of "fair competition" and "national security" to implement protectionism and trade barriers violates the principles of a market economy and the rules of the World Trade Organization. Although such actions may seem beneficial in the short term, they protect backwardness and lose the future, causing multiple losses. In the long run, they will only harm the interests of domestic industries and consumers, affecting the global green transformation of the economy and efforts to address climate change.

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