China-made vessel carries record number of EVs in shipment from Shanghai to Europe

SCMP | July 28, 2026, 3 a.m. | Original

An aerial view of new cars prior to export to overseas markets in Shanghai on March 10. Photo: AP

China has shipped a record number of electric vehicles (EVs) overseas from a Shanghai terminal, carried by a new generation of China-built car carrier ships – the latest instance of the country’s products taking on an even larger role in global supply chains.

The Malta-flagged Glovis Nova, a newly delivered vehicle carrier built in China, loaded 7,738 new energy vehicles at Shanghai’s South Port Terminal on Sunday, setting a new domestic record for the number of vehicles shipped from a Chinese port in a single voyage, according to a report from Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News on Monday.

The shipment marked the vessel’s maiden voyage after its delivery in Shanghai. The entire cargo consisted of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y passenger cars, which were to be transported to Zeebrugge, Belgium, before being distributed across European markets, according to the report.

On the same day, another China-built car carrier, the Panama-flagged Glovis Leader, also berthed at the South Port Terminal, a major vehicle export hub located a short drive from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory . The vessel was heading to Busan in South Korea, according to vessel tracking platform MarineTraffic.

Both vessels are 10,800-car capacity liquefied natural gas dual-fuel vehicle carriers, among the world’s largest vessels of their kind.

They were built by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups.

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