On September 21, 2026, 6154 domestically produced new energy vehicles boarded the BYD Changsha roll on/roll off ship and sailed from Xiaomo International Logistics Port in the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone to the United Arab Emirates. The export value reached 1.3 billion yuan, breaking two records for the number and value of single export vehicles from Xiaomo Port. This is the second record breaking flight of the roll on/roll off route from Xiaomo Port to the United Arab Emirates in less than two months, following its maiden voyage on August 4, 2026. The export of Chinese new energy vehicles to the Middle East market is accelerating. Export vehicles include BYD Dynasty BYD Ocean、Denza、Fangchengbao、Yangwang Five major brands have achieved full brand export coverage, among which four million level pure electric supercars Yangwang U9 have been exported from Shenzhen to the Middle East for the first time.

Front port and rear factory support rapid sea expansion

The core support for Xiaomo Port to continuously break records is the layout of the front port, back factory, and Hong Kong production linkage industries in the Shenzhen Shantou BYD Automobile Industrial Park. According to publicly available data, in the first half of 2026, the Shenzhen Shantou BYD Auto Industrial Park produced over 160000 complete vehicles, a year-on-year increase of over 130%. With the increase in production capacity, the current daily output of this super factory has reached 2000 vehicles, with an average of one vehicle being produced every 50 seconds. The factory is adjacent to Xiaomo Port, and after the whole vehicle is taken off the assembly line, it can be directly loaded into the port, greatly reducing the transit link and time cost of traditional factory to inland transportation to the port mode. In terms of port capacity, Xiaomo Port has opened a total of 13 automobile foreign trade routes, covering seven core regions of the world including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Europe, South America, Australia, and Africa. The continuous expansion of port infrastructure and route networks provides logistics support for the export volume of car companies such as BYD.

UAE becomes a core hub

The position of the United Arab Emirates in China's automobile export map is rapidly rising. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in February 2026, the United Arab Emirates ranked fourth with 32021 vehicles among the top ten countries in China's total automobile exports, second only to Russia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom; In the first quarter of 2026, China's exports of new energy vehicles to the United Arab Emirates reached 113377 units. The strategic value of the United Arab Emirates is reflected in three aspects: firstly, its advantage as a port hub, with deep-water ports such as Khorfakan Port and Jebel Ali Port radiating to the six Gulf countries, North Africa, and East African markets; Secondly, tariffs and trade policies are friendly. The United Arab Emirates is one of the markets with the lowest tariffs and relatively simple entry procedures for Chinese automobile exports to the Middle East; Thirdly, the UAE has strong consumption power, with a high per capita GDP and a continuous increase in acceptance of mid to high end new energy vehicle models. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, enterprise industry, the Middle East, new energy vehicles

The Middle East market enters a period of high volume

From BYD's layout rhythm, it can be seen that within just over a month of opening the route from Xiaomo Port to the United Arab Emirates, the transportation volume has climbed from 6068 to 6154 vehicles, indicating that the demand side of the Middle East market is rapidly increasing its ability to digest. The loading of all brand models on the BYD Changsha also indicates that its product matrix in the Middle East is expanding from single volume models to multi brand and multi price range coverage. From 6068 vehicles for the first flight in August to 6154 vehicles in September, the route from Xiaomo Port to the United Arab Emirates achieved an increase in traffic volume just over a month after its opening. If this climbing rhythm can be replicated in other Middle Eastern markets such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, it means that China's exports of new energy vehicles to the Gulf market are entering a period of high volume from the trial period. When roll on/roll off ships begin to break records on a monthly basis, the demand window in the Middle East market is no longer an expectation, but a fact.Editor/Gao Xue