The shortage of car-carrying vessels has pushed freight rates to record levels and limited China's EV exports to Europe.
This incident, to put it bluntly, is a "maritime drama", the protagonist is a group of electric vehicles who are in a hurry to cross the sea, and the villains are those cargo ships that are not enough. You see, in 2020, the world's auto factories were shut down due to the epidemic, and the shipping companies thought: Well, these old ships are not profitable, they can be cut. As a result, no one expected that the demand for cars would come back so quickly, especially China's electric vehicle exports to Europe, which is simply rocket speed.
So, the situation now is like you go to the supermarket to buy something, only to find that the carts are all used up, and you can only hold a bunch of things in a long queue. No, there are fewer car carriers, and the freight rate will naturally rise, and the rent for a day has risen to 11$50,000, more than seven times more than in 2019.
And don't look at the fact that everyone is rushing to order a new ship now, but it will not take a day or two to build this ship, at least three years. It's like ordering a new phone, and you are told that you have to wait three years to get it, who can afford to wait!
Especially the Chinese automakers, who have relied on sea freight to sell their cars to Europe, are now well, this ship is not enough, the cars cannot be sold, and they must have a headache. Although they planned to build a factory in Europe, it would take another decade for that to happen.
The funniest thing is that a quarter of the cars in Europe are still imported from China, including brands such as Tesla, BYD and Polestar. Isn't it ironic that the car is selling hot, but it can't be transported.
It's like you go to a restaurant, the dishes are ordered, and the chef tells you, I'm sorry, the pot has been lent to someone else, and you have to wait a while to cook. You say it's not annoying!Therefore, this maritime crisis really makes the global automotive industry love and hate, and I can't wait for a large number of ships to be used soon. I hope this "maritime drama" will come to an end as soon as possible!