DP World has handled the largest single maritime delivery of new energy vehicles to Chile, with 1,918 fully electric and plug-in hybrid BYD vehicles discharged at its multipurpose terminal in San Antonio.
The arrival also marked the first call by a BYD car carrier at a Chilean port, with the BYD Changzhou visiting as part of its inaugural South American route.
The milestone arrives as Chile’s electric vehicle market continues its rapid expansion, with plug-in vehicle sales growing 165.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, reaching 6.5% of the country’s new light and medium-duty vehicle market according to the Chilean Automotive Association.
DP World’s San Antonio terminal handles more than 95 percent of Chile’s vehicle imports, with specialised RoRo capabilities, experienced teams and established processes enabling efficient vehicle handling from discharge through to onward distribution.
The BYD record follows another automotive milestone at DP World San Antonio earlier in 2026, when the M/V Morning Lily discharged 6,338 vehicles in a single operation, the largest overall vehicle discharge from a single vessel in Chilean history.
In 2025, the terminal also handled more than 400 electric buses destined for deployment across Chile in support of the country’s sustainable public transportation expansion.
Curtis Doiron, CEO of DP World in Chile, described the BYD Changzhou’s arrival as a demonstration of the scale and capability of the terminal’s automotive operations, noting that as vehicle volumes grow and automotive technology evolves, manufacturers require reliable infrastructure and experienced logistics partners capable of handling increasingly complex supply chains.
