The Chinese manufacturer BYD never ceases to surprise. Last year it became the best-selling brand in its country for the first time, it emerged as Tesla’s main threat in the world among electric cars and it has just presented its first hybrid pickup. But a good example of his power is given by his ship, which docked a few days ago in Brazil.
Delivered in January to Yantai Port, Shandong Province, China, the Explorer 1the brand’s official ship, docked for the first time on the American continent, bringing electric and hybrid cars to the neighboring country.
The ship that docked on Monday, May 27 at the Port of Suape, in Pernambuco, measures 199.9 meters in length and has capacity to transport up to 7 thousand vehicles. Although there are other ships with a similar capacity, it is not common for all the cars that travel on such a ship to belong to the same manufacturer.
This was only Explorer 1’s second trip, which lasted 27 days from China to Brazil and will soon return to its home country. The ship also has 23 crew members, with the peculiarity that the majority are of Bulgarian origin.
According to the Chinese company, it is equipped with an innovative LNG dual propulsion system (liquefied natural gas) and conventional fuel. Seven more vessels are expected to join the fleet over the next two years, all integrating BYD’s energy storage battery technology and shaft-driven generator systems, which would significantly reduce pollution.
More than 5,000 cars at one time
With the largest movement of automobiles in the history of the Port of Suape at one time, the ship brought 5,459 vehicles to supply the Brazilian market, with the aim of satisfying the high demand that consumers in that country have been showing for BYD electric and hybrid cars.
Only in the first five months of the year, the Chinese brand has already patented more than 25,500 units, 43% more than all patents registered in 2023 (17,900).
In April, the company became one of the members of the select top ten sales in the Brazilian marketafter occupying ninth place in the general ranking among all brands, according to data from Fenabrave (National Federation of Motor Vehicle Distribution).
But the company’s focus is not only on imports. According to Alexandre Baldy, special advisor to the brand, “Brazil is currently the largest market for BYD outside of Asia. For this reason, the construction of our factory in Camaçari is progressing at an accelerated pace. At the end of this year we will begin assembling cars in Bahia and, starting next year, it will produce the most efficient and technological cars on national soil.”
Furthermore, Baldy highlighted that the neighboring country, “which has one of the cleanest energy matrices in the world, has all the potential to become an example of fleet electrification and our growth in sales shows that Brazilians are increasingly concerned about “green and sustainable mobility.”
Market leader in China
BYD, what acronyms do they mean? Build Your Dreams (Build Your Dreams) is also absolute sales leader in the Chinese automobile market, even surpassing combustion cars. Sales of the brand’s passenger cars continue to increase.
In April, the growth was 49% compared to the same period in 2023. To get an idea, the increase in BYD sales from 2020 to 2023 in China was 626.4%, going from 416,337 units to 3,024,417 passenger vehicles.
Exports are also increasing. Last year, BYD was responsible for exporting 242,765 vehicles, a figure that allowed an annual growth of 334.2%. On an industrial scale, it is currently present in more than 70 countries and contributes to a global operation of high reach and impact.
“We believe that it is possible to maintain sustainability and technology in all our green mobility solutions and we are increasingly committed to contributing to the strengthening of green and smart international logistics. And Brazil is, without a doubt, one of our biggest bets, in every sense,” said Tyler Li, president of BYD do Brasil.