Alarm in Europe: thousands of unsold Chinese electric cars are piling up in ports

European ports are becoming Giant parking lots for Chinese electric vehicles. Thousands of unsold cars are piling up at the port of Antwerp-Bruges, one of the busiest for imports. Slowing sales and logistical problems have meant Zeebrugge and other entry points are becoming saturated at an alarming rate.

According to a report from Financial TimesSome Chinese electric vehicles remained in European ports for more than 18 months. “Car showrooms They are increasingly using port parking lots as storage facilities.. Instead of storing cars in dealerships, they are collected at the car terminal,” said a representative of the port of Antwerp-Bruges.

In Germany the situation is similar. Bremerhaventhe second most important car import port in Europe, as well as suffers from overload of electric vehicles. The company, which operates cars at the port, said downtime increased when the government stopped subsidizing the purchase of electric vehicles in December.

The saturation of ports has led to a domino effect for transport companies. United European Car Carriers said its Ships are constantly delayed in the ports of Livorno and Piraeus. due to congestion. The Norwegian operator covers trade routes from Belgium and Germany to the Baltic countries, as well as from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe, covering Italy, Spain and France.

low sales combined with a lack of drivers. Those responsible for logistics note that there are not enough drivers and semi-trailers to deliver equipment to dealerships. The source said that the lack of trailers is due to Tesla reserves all delivery trucks.

China will send more electric vehicles to Europe

Despite the situation Chinese manufacturers redouble efforts to export more cars to Europe. BYD has outlined an ambitious expansion strategy in which it aims to gain a 5% share of the electric vehicle market in the Old Continent. The company maintains 1.1% market share after selling 16,000 units in 2023 and remains optimistic about achieving its target 5% by 2025.

According to the analysis Transport and environment, One in four electric cars sold in Europe this year will be made in China.. The group predicts that Chinese brands could capture 11% of the European electric vehicle market in 2024 and 20% in 2027. To achieve this, Asian manufacturers are ordering a record number of ships to transport them.

Veson Nautical data shows that Chinese companies such as SAIC Motor, Chery and BYD have ordered 47 ships will export their electric vehicles. “With the delivery of this armada, the share of the fleet controlled by China will increase from the current 2.4% to 8.7%,” said Andrea De Luca, an analyst at Veson.

The Asian giant does not believe in the saturation of its vehicles in European ports. At least that’s what Wang Wentao, China’s Commerce Minister, said at the meeting: the accusations are unfounded. However, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, admitted that shipping to Europe is difficult for Chinese companies.