China’s car exports are growing so fast that there are not enough ships to carry them. And Chinese shipyards are filling the gap.

According to Clarksons Research, from January to August, Chinese shipyards won nearly 97% of worldwide orders for new car carriers.

This is a dramatic turnaround. After shipowners ordered more than 70 vessels a year in 2023 and 2024, fears of oversupply pushed orders down to just nine last year. Now, the market is recovering, and Chinese shipyards are capturing almost all of the new business.

These ships are called pure car and truck carriers, or PCTCs. With multiple decks and ramps, they work like floating parking garages. The largest can carry more than 10,000 vehicles on a single voyage.

The demand is being driven by China’s growing car exports. In the first half of 2026, China shipped 5.1 million vehicles overseas, up 65 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

For years, Chinese automakers depended on foreign shipping companies to get those vehicles abroad. When freight rates climbed and ships became harder to book, transport became an obstacle to overseas expansion. Now, Chinese automakers and shipping companies are looking to secure more of that capacity themselves.

On September 23, SAIC Anji Logistics, the shipping arm of SAIC Motor, opened a tender for two LNG-powered car carriers. Each will carry 11,000 vehicles, with the first scheduled for delivery before September 2029.

BYD is also looking to expand its shipping fleet. TradeWinds has reported that BYD, SAIC Anji Logistics and COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers are discussing a fleet of around 20 ships worth an estimated $2.5 billion. The companies have not confirmed that figure as a finalized order. BYD is reportedly considering smaller vessels carrying around 8,600 or 9,200 cars.

And the buyers aren’t all Chinese. According to South Korea’s ChosunBiz, European shipping companies signed 33 car-carrier contracts with Chinese shipyards this year. Italy’s Grimaldi Group alone ordered 12 vessels.

Even shipowners that have traditionally relied on South Korean builders are turning to China. Israeli operator Ray Car Carriers, for example, ordered ten vessels from a Chinese shipyard after years of placing orders with South Korean yards, according to industry reports.

So why are Chinese shipyards winning so much of this business?

One reason is scale. Chinese builders now have the capacity to produce car carriers in large numbers, while South Korean yards have been focusing more on higher-value vessels, including LNG carriers.

For Chinese automakers, having more control over shipping means less exposure to rising freight rates and vessel shortages. Selling millions of cars overseas takes more than competitive vehicles, it also takes a reliable way to get them to customers, and China is now building both.