News / Car-carriers sail through tariff-inspired headwinds as China's exports boom

Car carriers have managed to withstand headwinds from US and EU tariffs so far, despite record newbuilding deliveries.

The first seven months of the year saw 46 car-carrying vessels, some 342,000 car-equivalent units (ceu), enter service, exceeding the total for 2024.

And Clarksons said in a recent report that car trade volumes to date in 2025 had “managed challenging market conditions”, with trade up 6% year on year.

Clarksons analyst David Whittaker said Chinese export volumes in particular had been strong (+17% in H1) as shipments to developing markets in the Middle East, Latin America and South-east Asia surged. EU tariffs on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) from China, introduced in late 2024, had done little to slow Chinese car exports to the bloc as manufacturers have pivoted towards hybrids or absorbed the extra costs.

China’s BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, said that in Q2 25, it exported 258,182 vehicles, 144% more than in Q2 24 – but intense competition for domestic sales saw BYD’s net profit fall 30% year on year, to $876m.

BYD claimed that despite tariffs, its EVs remained competitively priced with those of its European peers.

Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute’s figures show that in the first five months this year, Belgium, Brazil, the UK, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, UAE, Spain, Israel and Indonesia were the top 10 destinations for Chinese EV exports.

But it added that Chinese EV makers were shifting their focus from mature markets to emerging ones. With free-trade agreements and EV-friendly policies, Mexico and South-east Asia are now its fastest-growing EV export markets. In the first five months, for example, Mexico imported 69,103 Chinese EVs, up 165% year on year.

And Israel imported 32,163 Chinese EVs between January and May, more than double a year ago.

Gasgoo said: “The country’s technological strengths in battery materials and battery management systems supported the growth of its hi-tech new energy vehicle market and fuelled import demand for Chinese models.”

Major car carrier operators have continued to see robust earnings this year (despite some reporting periods of softer rates and/or volumes), while the charter market also remains solid, by historical standards, despite a substantial YoY correction.

In Q2 25, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, for example, reported net profit of $403m, up 64% year on year, with CEO Lasse Kristoffersen citing firm demand for ocean transport, in particular out of Asia.

A one-year charter rate for a 6,500 ceu vessel now stands at $47,500 a day, 60% down on the 2024 high, but still more than double the pre-Covid 10-year average.

Mr Whittaker noted: “Even older vessels continue to find employment, with vessel idling and demolition limited-to-non-existent at the moment.”