Hong Kong
CNN
—
More than 5,000 electric vehicles were loaded onto a giant shipping carrier in China this week and sent to ports in Europe.
The cars come from BYD, the Chinese carmaker that is backed by Warren Buffett and has surpassed Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles (EVs).
The automaker enlisted the massive vessel, dubbed “BYD Explorer No. 1,” to ferry its exports from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to Germany and the Netherlands on its maiden voyage, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
It’s a striking visual example of the growing heft of BYD, which has conquered its home market but now needs to navigate new roads to maintain its momentum.
To do so, two countries will be crucial: Hungary and Mexico. While neither is a vast car market, they could serve as gateways to Europe and North America, bolstering the company’s quest to truly become a global household name.
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Electric cars waiting to be loaded onto “BYD Explorer No. 1,” a shipping carrier vessel intended to export BYD vehicles, at Yantai port in eastern China’s Shandong…
