Their workers work 12 hrs a day and only get 2 days off per month. It's the worst kind of modern slavery. I don't think they can produce even qualified cars under such pressure.
[1] is extremely vague wrt hard details, in summary it's a dispute between Brazilian standard conditions and Chinese standard with hints of "slave like conditions" but nothing concrete.
[2] is about Chinese workers striking to demand longer hours:
According to reports, the main reason for the employees’ discontent was the implementation of a four-shift system and a five-day, eight-hour work schedule. This would result in the loss of overtime pay, leading to a significant reduction in their income.
The pay scale can be debated but it doesn't support your claim above that the company forces long hours upon the workers.
[3] references workers striking for better pay, safer conditions, et al but doesn't mention slave like conditons etc. that you claimed
The number of RORO ships is directly proportional to the volume of automobile exports. As of 2022, China had only 100 such ships, accounting for just 14% of the global fleet. However, considering that Chinese shipbuilding enterprises currently have orders for an additional 200 RORO ships, it is possible that in the future, China's share of the global roll-on/roll-off fleet could reach one-third.
OP clearly has an ulterior motive. Normally I wouldn't call in to question the motives of the poster themselves, but for a green account with a consistent submission history it seems fair.
Seems like a witch hunt to me. OP's history is relatively diverse, and the comments are not lacking in content or argument. Having opinions is not a vile "ulterior motive".
That's pushing vertical integration to extremes. Is there any precedent to car carriers dedicated to one manufacturer? Wikipedia mentions a "Toyota Maru No. 10" which was NOT owned by Toyota - although I don't know if it was dedicated to them.
These are also not owned by VW Logistics, but on long-term lease to them.
Note this is the similar for several BYD RoRo carriers, e.g. the BYD Explorer No.1 and BYD Changzhou are owned by Zodiac Maritime and chartered by/leased to BYD.
As to why a UK-based shipping company owned by a Israeli billionaire based in Monaco buys RoRo carriers from a Chinese shipyard, and then leases them back to a Chinese car maker, I don't know. But I'm also quite curious about the regulatory and financing-related incentives and money flows involved. I'm aware this kind of setup is called a "Non-operating owner" and is fairly common.
Okay fair enough thank you. The article points at just Volkswagen running 9 car carriers just for the north atlantic.
And BYD have been at it for a while, so time for a wholly owned one I guess.
> As to why a UK-based shipping company owned by a Israeli billionaire based in Monaco buys RoRo carriers from a Chinese shipyard, and then leases them back to a Chinese car maker, I don't know.
That's good. No idea if that's the reason, but that would be an easy way to invest in BYD while mostly not being subject to Chinese direct investing legal requirements and problems.
I think there are no climate controls to cool/heat the air to acceptable human levels inside the parking area. I remember seeing on the local news that the inside of the ship looked like a tightly packed parking lot, which seemed to be done by machinery to maximize occupancy.
It's not well advertised, but you can book voyages on many cargo ships. They just give you one of the crew cabins and pack some more food. Expect to be the only passenger.
There are some issues though. It's slow (slower than an ocean liner since ships are more efficient at low speeds). And it's a cargo vessel, so the cargo sets the schedule. If there's an issue with the cargo that delays the ship by three weeks, you journey is delayed by three weeks. There also just isn't much happening. You have a room, a mess hall, a crew of maybe half a dozen to a dozen people to talk to, a ship to walk around on, and not much else.
It's more of a "the journey is the destination" thing. Accordingly there are a couple youtube channels documenting such journeys
This ship might not be for peacefully exporting electric cars. China is making unmistakable preparations to invade Taiwan in the near future and RORO carrier vessels have clear military applications in such a scenario.
Car shipping RORO vessels aren't LSTs... They can't beach and land tanks. Amphibian tanks can roll on and off amphibious assault ships, but this isn't it.
Yeah, I watched the video the other day and when I saw the phrase “world’s largest car carrier” I instantly thought of the photo of all of the Chinese tanks loaded onto a RORO. And this ship is even bigger? Hmmmmm…
After the Ticktock ban and surge of Rednote installs, more people are seeing these cars here. And they look amazing for the price. The ban is backfiring spectacularly. And this is just one way.
I actually assumed that was part of the impetus for creating their own ship – standard cargo ships probably aren't well-suited to the job and simultaneously are a bit concerned about transporting such cargo.
Specialized car carriers are fairly common. Maybe they added some changes to make this one especially well suited for EVs, like modified fire suppression systems. But it may well be a standard ro-ro ship with an LNG engine.
Realistically, what is the concern for EV batteries? They already make up a pretty substantial amount of market chair in the US, and yet I don’t hear stories about EV’s being more dangerous or more prone to fires or anything. The only time you ever really see an EV burning is one that was in an accident, and guess what, gas cars also blow up when they’re in an accident sometimes
I'm just here to say electrek's continuous scroll both delights and annoys me by equal measures (because of my right click new tab habit)
This is a giant RoRo. Compared to the one I used to cross the St Lawrence River a few years back, you could pack hundreds of them inside this in a meta meta car carrier.
So Internet apps are banned but data collection devices like electric vehicles are permitted. BYD of course has a privacy policy, but who knows what is actually collected. The same applies to other EV manufacturers.
I suppose one can only buy 30 year old second hand vehicles.
Shenzhen, Changsha, Huizhou, Shanxi, Shanghai (in China), the one in Thailand, in Hungary or Uzbekistan? (etc.)
I ask as Reuters reported the Shenzhen and other plants as having standard eight hour shifts less than two years past: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/byd-re...
Do you have a source for claim?
[0] https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3293923/...
[1] https://carnewschina.com/2024/05/20/strike-at-byd-factory-in...
[2] https://clb.org.hk/en/content/auto-workers-bear-brunt-compet...
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
[1] is extremely vague wrt hard details, in summary it's a dispute between Brazilian standard conditions and Chinese standard with hints of "slave like conditions" but nothing concrete.
[2] is about Chinese workers striking to demand longer hours:
The pay scale can be debated but it doesn't support your claim above that the company forces long hours upon the workers.[3] references workers striking for better pay, safer conditions, et al but doesn't mention slave like conditons etc. that you claimed
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42228138
Oh no. You caught me.
General Motors helped design the Vert-A-Pac. https://chevyvega.fandom.com/wiki/Vert-A-Pac
These are also not owned by VW Logistics, but on long-term lease to them.
Note this is the similar for several BYD RoRo carriers, e.g. the BYD Explorer No.1 and BYD Changzhou are owned by Zodiac Maritime and chartered by/leased to BYD.
As to why a UK-based shipping company owned by a Israeli billionaire based in Monaco buys RoRo carriers from a Chinese shipyard, and then leases them back to a Chinese car maker, I don't know. But I'm also quite curious about the regulatory and financing-related incentives and money flows involved. I'm aware this kind of setup is called a "Non-operating owner" and is fairly common.
And BYD have been at it for a while, so time for a wholly owned one I guess.
> As to why a UK-based shipping company owned by a Israeli billionaire based in Monaco buys RoRo carriers from a Chinese shipyard, and then leases them back to a Chinese car maker, I don't know.
That's good. No idea if that's the reason, but that would be an easy way to invest in BYD while mostly not being subject to Chinese direct investing legal requirements and problems.
https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/BYD-W...
To be fair, it's pretty large. If you zoom in, you can see some people in a door near the middle of the image, and they're nearly microscopic.
Edit: link updated with alternate documentary video without AI content, please reply with a better video if you find one on roros.
Here is the only photo I could find: https://movimentoeconomico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2024/05...
There are some issues though. It's slow (slower than an ocean liner since ships are more efficient at low speeds). And it's a cargo vessel, so the cargo sets the schedule. If there's an issue with the cargo that delays the ship by three weeks, you journey is delayed by three weeks. There also just isn't much happening. You have a room, a mess hall, a crew of maybe half a dozen to a dozen people to talk to, a ship to walk around on, and not much else.
It's more of a "the journey is the destination" thing. Accordingly there are a couple youtube channels documenting such journeys
Consider this analysis of the invasion barges they’re preparing: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Klkpk_hO4FQ
What could go wrong?
“the new ship includes BYD box-type battery packs and shaft-belt generators for the first time”
EV fires are harder to put out, but in every other way this isn't different from any other car carrier
This is a giant RoRo. Compared to the one I used to cross the St Lawrence River a few years back, you could pack hundreds of them inside this in a meta meta car carrier.
I suppose one can only buy 30 year old second hand vehicles.