Chinese electric vehicle company BYD's first roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship has begun its maiden voyage, carrying almost 3,440 electric vehicles bound for South America. A ro-ro is a type of giant cargo ship designed to transport vehicles.

The ship, called BYD Pioneer 1, left the Xiaomo International Logistics Port in China's Guangdong province during the Labor Day holiday, bound for the port of Suape in Brazil. The departure ceremony took place just before take-off, as reported by Yicai.

BYD, based in Shenzhen, invested US$ 500 million in 2022 to build eight ro-ro ships specialized for transporting cars, a response to rising freight costs and growing demand from international markets.

Chinese ro-ro ships mainly export vehicles to Southeast Asia, Europe and America. Brazil, the world's sixth largest automobile market, is one of the main export destinations for Chinese electric vehicles.

(Source: China2Brazil, on May 7)