Barcelona port becomes gateway to European market for Chinese e-vehicle producers

BARCELONA, Spain, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese electric vehicle producers are increasingly choosing the Port of Barcelona in Spain as the main gateway for their products into Europe.

According to the Port of Barcelona, in 2023 it handled over 720,000 vehicles, of which 90,000 were electric vehicles produced in China.

This trend is in line with a recent study by PwC global consultancy, which predicts that by 2025 up to 800,000 Chinese-built cars could be sold in Europe.

"In 2023 we noted a radical change in trend, and now the Port of Barcelona is in a 50-50 situation in which we import the same number of vehicles that we export, and now many of the imports are electric vehicles made in China," Lluis Salvado, President of the Port of Barcelona, told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

"China, in percentage terms, holds the same position as it did before the pandemic, as the Port of Barcelona's main trading partner. Within (...) a diversified port, we saw notable growth in certain segments, such as electric vehicles," he added.

In Spain alone the number of new Chinese cars sold rose from 10,000 to 37,000 in 2023, accounting for 4 percent of the Spanish market, according to the national vehicle dealers' association Ancove.

For the head of the Port of Barcelona, the geographical location of the city is one reason Asian producers choose it to import their products into Europe. The port is also part of an effective infrastructure, he added.

"Our logistic chain in combination with maritime and rail links with the rest of Europe provides Barcelona with a lot of potential, and means that a lot of companies producing in China have chosen the Port of Barcelona as their gateway to Europe," he added.

While describing 2023 as an "irregular" year, he predicts that 2024 will be a year of stability, despite continuing uncertainty due to global events such as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Port of Barcelona says that between January and November last year, it registered total traffic of 59 million tons and 3 million TEUs (a TEU is the equivalent to 38 cubic meters), and the authority hopes to repeat or exceed those numbers this year.

"There are three sectors that are growing: electric vehicles, some segments of the electronics industry that are still benefiting from the effects of globalization, and vehicles traditionally made in Europe that are now produced in China and other Asian countries," Salvado concluded.