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BYD revolutionizes Brazil with the arrival of 5.459 electric cars on the LNG-powered ship Explorer 1. Discover how the brand is leading the sustainable transformation in transportation
Chinese manufacturer BYD never stops surprising. Last year, the brand became the best-selling brand in its country for the first time, emerged as Tesla's main threat in the world of electric cars and has just presented its first pickup hybrid. But a good example of his power is his ship, which docked a few days ago in Brazil.
Delivered in January at the port of Yantai, in Shandong province, China, Explorer 1, the brand's official ship, docked for the first time on the American continent, bringing electric and hybrid cars to Brazil.
The Ship Explorer 1
The ship that docked on Monday, May 27, at the Port of Suape, in Pernambuco, measures 199,9 meters in length and has the capacity to transport up to 7 thousand vehicles. Although there are other ships with similar capacity, it is not common for all the cars traveling on such a ship to belong to the same manufacturer.
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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 particularity that the majority are of Bulgarian origin.
According to the Chinese company, the ship is equipped with an innovative dual propulsion system using LNG (liquefied natural gas) and conventional fuel. It is expected that seven more ships will be added to the fleet over the next two years, all integrating BYD's energy storage battery technology and shaft-driven generator systems, which would notably reduce pollution.
More than 5.000 Cars at Once
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 have shown for BYD's electric and hybrid automobiles.
In the first five months of the year alone, the Chinese brand has already registered more than 25.500 units, an increase of 43% compared to all registrations in 2023 (17.900).
In April, the company became one of the select top ten sales in the Brazilian market, after occupying ninth position in the general ranking among all brands, according to data from Fenabrave (National Federation of Motor Vehicle Distribution).
Focus on Import and National Production
But the company's focus is not just on imports. According to Alexandre Baldy, special advisor to the brand, “Brazil is currently the biggest market for BYD outside of Asia. Therefore, the construction of our factory in Camaçari is progressing at an accelerated pace. At the end of this year, we will start assembling cars in Bahia and, starting next year, we will produce the most efficient and technological cars on national soil.”
Furthermore, Baldy highlighted that Brazil, “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 demonstrates that Brazilians are increasingly concerned about green and sustainable mobility”.
BYD Market Leader in China
BYD, which stands for “Build Your Dreams”, is also the absolute sales leader in the Chinese automotive market, even surpassing combustion cars. Sales of the brand's passenger cars continue to increase.
In April, growth was 49% compared to the same period in 2023. To give you 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 number that allowed 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 great 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.
