World’s largest car carrier BYD Shenzhen begins maiden voyage to Brazil with 7,000 electric cars

BYD has dispatched its new car carrier, the Shenzhen, to Brazil, with more than 7,000 vehicles in its hold. It was officially handed over to the automaker on April 22, 2025. It will berth at Itajai Port after 30 days.

The vessel, the largest car transported in the world, was not loaded to full capacity when it sailed off on April 27 from Taicang, Jiangsu province in China. It has space for 9,200 automobiles, and the cargo hold is the size of 20 standard soccer playing fields.

Following BYD’s ship nomenclature, Shenzhen is named after the Chinese city of the same name, where the carmaker has a major production hub. It is 219.9 meters long, 37.7 meters tall, and has 16 decks.

BYD now operates four car carriers as it tries to expand its business globally to compete with Tesla. It aims to make vehicle export logistics more efficient by bringing the operations in-house. Other vessels in BYD’s fleet include Explorer No. 1 (owned by another company), 7000-capacity Hefei and Changzhou.

BYD will soon launch its fifth ship, the Changsha, with the same capacity as the Shenzhen. It has unveiled the sixth one, the Xian, but it has yet to share the vessel’s specifications.