China handed over the world’s largest car carrier

Theo XinhuaChina has continuously broken the record for the world’s largest car carrier in the past few years. At the end of April 2025, this title belongs to the BYD Shenzhen ship with a capacity of 9,200 standard vehicles. Less than a month later, the Anji Ansheng with a capacity of 9,500 vehicles made its first trip from Shanghai to Europe. Currently, this title belongs to Glovis Leader, the first car carrier in the world with a capacity exceeding 10,000 vehicles.

The Glovis Leader ship was built by Guangzhou International Shipbuilding Company of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Trading Company. The ship was handed over to Korean shipping company HMM on April 28, and will then be operated by Korean logistics company Hyundai Glovis.

Classified as a car and truck transport ship, Glovis Leader is 230 m long, 40 m wide, has a design draft of 10.5 m and a cruise speed of 35 km/h. The ship includes 14 vehicle decks and can carry a variety of goods such as electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and heavy trucks. In addition, the ship is equipped with a smart management system to help monitor navigation, machinery and cargo, thereby improving operational safety.

Theo CGTNGlovis Leader’s dual-fuel propulsion system using liquefied natural gas meets the most stringent Tier III emissions standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Notably, the ship is equipped with an independent permanent magnet shaft generator with a capacity of 1,450 kW developed by the CSSC research institute, allowing the ship to produce electricity while moving, significantly reducing energy consumption. Combined with optimizing the hull design, using waste heat recovery technology and a high-voltage shore power system, the ship achieves very high energy efficiency.

Car carriers are vehicles with strict technical requirements, posing challenges related to multi-layer thin steel structures, fire safety, roll-on/roll-off cargo loading and unloading systems and high stability design. Zhou Xuhui, General Manager of Guangzhou International Shipbuilding Company, said they have overcome many key technical challenges through building a series of car carriers, and production efficiency has also increased significantly.