BYD‘s car carrier Jinan is scheduled to arrive at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, this weekend, carrying a cargo of Chinese-built fully electric and hybrid vehicles for one of the company’s fastest-growing European markets.
The latest dock comes days after the group officially launched its premium sub-brand Denza in the Old Continent.
Local vehicle production in Europe has yet to ramp up, with trial assembly underway at BYD‘s Szeged plant in Hungary since January and series production scheduled for the second quarter.
The company’s Turkish plant is not expected to begin production until later this year.
The 719-foot vessel was sailing north through the North East Atlantic Ocean off the Portuguese coast on Thursday morning, with arrival at the northern German port scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.
The Jinan departed Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao terminal on March 17 and transited the Suez Canal earlier this month, leaving the anchorage at As Suways on April 8.
The voyage from China to Germany takes approximately 33 days.
Largest Class in BYD’s Fleet
The Jinan is the eighth vessel in BYD‘s car carrier fleet, entering service in late September.
The car carrier belongs to the company’s 9,200-vehicle class — among the largest car carriers in the world — alongside the BYD Shenzhen, Changsha and Xi’an — all named after Chinese cities.
BYD has not publicly disclosed the exact number of vehicles onboard for this voyage.
The Chinese automaker operates eight ro-ro carriers in total, three with a capacity of 9,200 vehicles and five with a capacity of 7,000, giving BYD annual export capacity of more than one million vehicles.
The vessels were built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard as part of a 5 billion yuan ($700 million) fleet expansion programme announced in 2023.
The Jinan is built on 16 decks, with a service speed of 18.5 knots and LNG dual-fuel propulsion. It was built in 2025 and sails under the flag of Hong Kong.
Mix of BEVs and PHEVs
Although BYD launched in Europe with fully electric vehicles only, the company has been increasing the share of plug-in hybrids in its German and European lineups.
According to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), BYD‘s January 2026 German registrations were split 59.4% BEV and 40.6% PHEV — 1,561 battery-electric units versus 1,068 plug-in hybrids.
The BYD Seal U DM-i was the best-selling PHEV in Europe in 2025, according to Handelsblatt, while the newly introduced Seal 6 DM-i — the brand’s first estate model in Europe — is also a plug-in hybrid.
German Sales Surge
The shipment arrives as BYD continues to post some of the fastest registration growth in Germany.
The brand registered 3,438 vehicles in the country in March 2026 — a 327.1% increase from the same month in 2025, according to KBA data released on April 7.
The surge pushed BYD’s German market share to 1.2%.
The figure placed BYD among the fastest-growing brands in the German market last month, alongside Leapmotor (+318.1%), Tesla (+315.1%) and XPeng (+211.9%). Total new car registrations in Germany rose 16% in March to 294,161 units, with the first quarter closing up 5.2%.
Fully electric vehicles accounted for 70,663 of March’s registrations — a 66.2% increase and a 24% market share.
Plug-in hybrids added 29,996 units, bringing combined BEV and PHEV registrations to 100,659 — only the fourth time that threshold has been crossed in any month on record. BYD’s local subsidiary has targeted 50,000 vehicle sales in Germany for 2026.
Earlier Deliveries
The Jinan is the latest in a growing list of BYD vessels calling at European ports.
The BYD Changzhou — a 7,000-vehicle carrier — began operation in late 2024 and loaded nearly 5,000 BYD NEVs at Lianyungang and Taicang for delivery to Europe.
The BYD Hefei made a maiden voyage to northern Europe in early 2025, while the BYD Shenzhen sailed first to Brazil after its naming ceremony in April 2025.
In January, the company exported 5,800 vehicles to Argentina.
