DP World Puts Cars in Containers
Thousands of cars are now entering Turkey after DP World Yarımca introduced a ‘cars in containers’ shipping solution that has helped solve an automotive supply chain crisis in the region.
Congestion at Turkish ports has resulted in significant delays in delivering new vehicles against a backdrop of skyrocketing demand in the burgeoning automotive market. Turkey recently experienced an auto sales boom with a record 110,000 vehicles sold in June which is a 37.5% year-on-year increase, according to data from Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD).
With traditional importation and shipping solutions via roro ships facing significant delays due to congestion at roro ports, car manufacturers were unable to make timely delivery on purchases. This left customers waiting significantly longer for their new cars and caused prices to inflate across both the new and used vehicle markets.
Using an alternative solution to help make more cars flow into the country more quickly, DP World began importing 10,000 vehicles by putting new SUVs from Chinese automaker Chery Automotive into containers. This meant the vehicle could be offloaded using traditional cranes at lift on lift off ports and did not require a specialised roro port or berth, resulting in a significantly more efficient and resilient route to market.
The solution became more feasible when DP World and Chery implemented a specially designed racking arrangement to increase capacity by loading three SUVs into each container instead of two, which helped to improve the cost efficiency of transporting vehicles from China to Turkey and reduce the cost passed on to consumers. The feasibility of the solution also made Yarımca an important steppingstone for the shipment of Chery Automotive vehicles into the booming Turkish auto market.
With Chery keen to expand its presence in Europe, the cars in container solution is set to be a key part of how it will deliver vehicles to market.
Kris Adams, CEO of DP World Yarımca, said: “Our terminal at Yarimca, which has not traditionally moved vehicles, is now becoming a key hub for new vehicles entering the market. The new innovative solutions we have introduced will help Chery Automotive to establish itself as a significant supplier in this market and in neighbouring countries, offering economic benefits to Turkey while also helping consumers get their new cars more quickly.” DP World Yarımca has an annual handling capacity of 1.15 million TEUs.