Long standstills are disastrous
Tens of thousands of Chinese cars are parked in the port in Zeebrugge, Belgium, waiting for an owner. Some have been there for over a year.
Even if there are a hundred thousand parking spaces in Zeebrugge, the largest car terminal in Europe, they are all full. Mainly unsold electric cars from China are parked there: brand new models from BYD, MG, Geely and Great Wall, but also cars from Western brands with logos from Tesla, Polestar, BMW and Volvo, which have their vehicles produced in China. How did that happen?
“Chinese car factories have started exporting more since 2021 and cars have been moving less smoothly from the terminals in recent months,” says Elke Verbeelen of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges port authority, according to HLN. “This has various causes, such as lower capacity in road transport with car transporters, but there is also a general trend that car sales are at a lower level.” While Western brands tailor production as much as possible to demand, the Chinese are producing at full capacity and trying to sell the cars. If sales then stall, you will see the consequences in the ports. “Many newer brands no longer have real dealers who store cars, and so oversupply is immediately visible,” explains transport economist Roel Gevaers of the University of Antwerp.
According to The Financial Times Many electric cars have sometimes been standing still in European ports for more than a year. According to Gevaers, that is disastrous. “Not only because the manufacturers do not see any income, but also because it is not good for lithium batteries if they become completely empty. If you leave your smartphone for six months, it also loses a lot of capacity.”
Photo for illustration.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl