In the past two years, the Haitong terminal has been expanding, and the reason behind it is to meet the growing increase in China's automobile exports.
Early in the morning, the reporter came to the Haitong Wharf in the Waigaoqiao Port Area of Shanghai, where the wharf was working intensively, and two ocean-going freighters were ready to go. Lin Jie was the duty manager of the dock operation that day, and his task was to ship more than 4,000 domestic cars onto two giant cargo ships in an orderly manner.
Lin Jie, Duty Manager of Shanghai Haitong Terminal Operation Department: The ship on the left is mainly on the South American route, with an export volume of about 2,300 vehicles, and the ship on the right is probably on the Persian Gulf route, and the export volume has also reached more than 2,000 vehicles.
Lin Jie, who has worked at Haitong Terminal for nearly 10 years, has witnessed the growing export of Chinese-made cars.
Lin Jie, Duty Manager of Shanghai Haitong Terminal Operation Department: Europe may be like a desert land for our entire export, and Europe used to be more (Chinese) imports, but in recent years, with the strong manufacturing strength of China, Europe has been growing more of our domestic tram (new energy vehicles) exports year by year.
As the largest automobile export terminal in China, Haitong Terminal occupies about 70% of China's automobile ro-ro exports, with an average of nearly 3,000 vehicles departing from here to the world every day in 2023, and full capacity operation of the terminal has become the norm.
At the same time, the person in charge of Haitong Terminal told reporters that in previous years, they mainly imported cars here, but now the proportion of imported and exported cars is changing dramatically.
Cheng Yunbo, Director of the Operations Department of Shanghai Haitong Terminal: Exports and the growth rate is quite large, mainly based on this new energy (automobile), which accounted for more than 30% of exports last year (2023).
In the past two years, Haitong Wharf has been continuously expanding, and a number of intelligent warehouses have been built one after another. The completion of each intelligent warehouse can fully load 6,000 commercial vehicles to meet China's growing increase in automobile exports.
The influence of China's new energy vehicles in Europe is rising
At present, the influence of China's new energy vehicles exported in the European market, where the automobile industry is developed, is also rising.
Just after New Year's Day, the business in Oslo, Norway, which deals in China's new energy vehicles, told reporters that they will continue to be optimistic about the sales of China's new energy vehicles this year and increase cooperation with China. This high-end electric vehicle from China is not only competitively priced, but also very good in quality, with advantages such as large space and strong power that are very suitable for the travel needs of Nordic consumers.
Tolje Alexander Suran, CEO of Norwegian EV Dealership: There are many important factors for Nordic and European consumers, the technology, innovation and design of the products are at the top level, and Chinese car companies are developing too fast, and it will have a great impact on European consumers.
The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association is the world's largest association of electric vehicle drivers with more than 85,000 members. The relevant person in charge also told reporters that at present, 90% of the new cars sold in Norway are electric vehicles, and there are 15 new energy vehicle brands in China that are sold locally, and the sales volume in 2023 will exceed 100,000 units, accounting for nearly 15% of Norway's total sales. It is expected that the sales of new energy vehicles made in China will increase significantly this year.
Christina Bu, Secretary General of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association: Chinese OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have quite advanced technology in all IT functions that are now becoming more and more important in cars. Norway is a very cold country, and we see Chinese models perform well in winter as well.
For a long time in the past, Europe has been the main market for fuel vehicles, and with the transformation of the world economy to a green road, European countries have also announced plans to ban the sale of fuel vehicles. In recent years, Chinese new energy brands can often be seen at major European auto shows, and more and more European consumers have begun to consider new energy vehicles from China when buying cars.
The reporter learned that China's new energy vehicles in the European market not only have a sense of science and technology different from traditional fuel vehicles, but also advanced technology in the fields of battery technology, intelligent driving, intelligent networking, etc., so that European consumers have a higher recognition of the technical strength of Chinese automobiles. In addition, Chinese NEVs are generally more affordable, making them accessible to more European consumers.