European Ports Turning Into Chinese EV Car Parks

Barely weeks after China's Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao, denied U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's claim that China's EV glut is flooding the world, reports of Chinese EVs causing logistical problems are emerging.

According to the Financial Times, major European ports and shipping terminals are currently experiencing an influx of Chinese-manufactured EVs. Ports in Belgium and Germany, among others, are becoming EV "car parks" as more EVs are coming in then being cleared out.

One of the primary reasons for this situation is a lack of logistical support that the Chinese EV brands are experiencing, particularly in terms of procuring truck drivers and commercial transportation to facilitate the movement of these vehicles from the ports to dealer lots.

Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), also brought up that even inland shipping for these Chinese EVs in European markets has been a nightmare. One contributing factor to this would be Tesla's large reservation of vehicle transport trucks resulting in trucks being unable to cater to additional transportation requests.

Although most European countries have not yet implemented additional tariffs, news of these negative spillovers are indeed not helping. More so as Chinese automakers such as BYD, SAIC, Great Wall Motors, and Chery are doubling down on overseas expansion as demand for EVs in their domestic markets slows down.