By Gary S. Vasilash

Among the many things that you’ve heard/read about Chinese vehicle manufacturers such as BYD and SAIC is something that may not have resonated a whole lot (after all, the amounts of praise that is heaped on the companies, BYD, in particular, for its EV product development approach and consequent products pretty much buries everything else):

They have built their own vehicle-carrying cargo ships.

The BYD Shenzhen is said to be the world’s largest roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier in the world, with a capacity of 9,200 cars.

BYD is certainly vertically integrated, but it seems that this is really taking things to a whole other level.

But there may be something to it that goes beyond just being able to coordinate production with logistics in a way that probably can’t be done as efficiently with a third-party being involved.

Shipping company Matson, which describes itself as providing “a vital lifeline to the economies of Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia, and the South Pacific and premium, expedited service from China to Southern California,” noting, “The company’s fleet of vessels includes containerships, combination container, and roll-on/roll-off ships and barges” has announced that when it comes to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, it is no longer interested.

“Matson has more experience shipping cars for consumers, manufacturers, businesses, and the military than any other carrier in the Pacific.” With experience, presumably, comes knowledge.

And in boldface type on the Matson site there’s this:

No battery-powered electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can be transported from any Matson location due to the hazardous material classification of their components.

It is worth knowing that on a per capita basis, Hawaii is third among the 50 states when it comes to EV ownership. This is not going to do much for increasing those numbers.

Given that U.S. tariffs on Chinese EVs is up to 145%, odds are there isn’t going to be much in the way of deliveries by the BYD Shenzhen to U.S. ports anytime soon.

But one day they may be ready with a whole lot of capacity.