Tens of thousands of cars are waiting for a buyer in Zeebrugge: “But it is not true that there are enough Chinese cars here”

No, the port of Zeebrugge is not full of unsold Chinese e-cars. The news that our ports serve as gigantic parking lots for Chinese cars made international headlines. But looking on the spot, it turns out to be different.

Alain Guillemyn drives us around the car terminal of ICO (International Car Operators) in Zeebrugge, the largest car port in the world. ICO has the largest car terminal there, and Guillemyn recently became CEO.

The terminal extends over almost the entire inner port of Zeebrugge. There are four boats moored and more than 70,000 cars parked there, waiting for a ship, train or truck to take them to a buyer. At least if that buyer is there. “We have room for 80,000 cars here. In Antwerp we have a terminal for 40,000 cars. For the terminal to work properly, it must only be 80 percent occupied. Now we are above 90 percent. As a result, we cannot unload the vehicles via the shortest routes. And yes, many of the cars you see here do not yet have a buyer,” sighs Guillemyn.

Popular port

Guillemyn attributes the fact that his terminal is too full to declining demand. “Due to the recession and inflation, people worldwide are buying fewer cars. Manufacturers continue to produce too much, causing the number of unsold cars to accumulate.” Guillemyn denies that only Chinese manufacturers make cars without there being a buyer. “European brands are more likely to produce only to order, but not always. Their factories have to keep running, so they also have unsold cars.”

ICO is part of the Japanese group NYK, but operates as a fairly independent entity from Belgium. “Last year we shipped 2.5 million cars from Belgium. The year before that was 2.35 million.”

That 2.5 million breaks down into approximately one-third imports, one-third exports and one-third transhipment: cars that arrive from Asia on a large ship, for example, and are picked up by a smaller ship that sails to Sweden. “Zeebrugge is a hub with both intercontinental and regional shipping lines. All those lines branch off here, making the port increasingly popular with manufacturers.”

Most cars go onto a truck trailer. “About 1,000 trucks leave here every day, some of which travel far into Central Europe. The train is also becoming more popular, with about 15 car trains per week.” According to Guillemyn, the shortage of drivers and trucks – a major problem in recent years – has been largely solved by better working conditions for drivers and investments in more trucks.

A mile-long tour shows that almost all brands are customers of ICO. In addition to the traditional European brands, there are many Asian brands and sturdy American-made pick-ups. (Guillemyn does not want us to mention his customers by name.) About 16 percent of the cars handled at the terminal are fully electric. Eleven wind turbines at the terminal must generate energy to charge those e-cars.

Apart from a few rows of electric cars, there are not many Chinese cars to be seen. “Yes, more and more Chinese electric brands are coming to Europe, but the news that it is full of Chinese cars here has been greatly exaggerated.”

Cheap parking space

ICO tries to prevent manufacturers from seeing the terminals too much as a cheap parking place for unsold cars. “We charge extra costs if cars are left parked for too long. Moreover, we do not accept cars for export if they are not shipped within fourteen days.” The crowded terminal frustrates Guillemyn for another reason. “We now often have to say no to customers because we don’t have room. They move to other ports, which try to steal market share from us.” The CEO refers to the Chinese brand BYD, which made the news a few weeks ago when it started unloading cars in the port of Vlissingen (part of North Sea Port) with its own ship. Le Havre and Dunkirk in France are also trying to benefit from the congestion in Zeebrugge.

For Guillemyn there is a clear solution to the capacity problem: growth. This is hardly possible horizontally, because the terminal already leans against the A11, which separates the port area from the polders behind it. According to the CEO, the terminal must be launched. He wants to build large multi-storey parking units in ICO’s car parks, capable of handling up to 6,000 cars per unit. He hopes to expand the capacity by about 30,000 to 40,000 places. “The permit applications have been submitted for a long time, but it is taking an awfully long time. We have prepared an environmental impact report of more than 300 pages in which we map everything from the birds flying overhead to what is underground. We are not yet sure whether we will receive the permit, even though this is an industrial area. We are not doing well in that area in Belgium. France shifts much faster. I’m afraid we’re losing our momentum.”

Import tariffs

Guillemyn hopes to recruit more people. Now ICO has 1,250 employees (350 of whom work directly for ICO and 900 through dock workers who drive the cars on and off the ships). But the CEO still sees a major benefit from the expansion for Belgium: additional import tariffs. “In most cases, cars coming from outside Europe are subject to a European import tax of 10 percent. The country where the cars enter can keep 20 percent of it. So the treasury benefits if many cars from outside Europe are imported into Zeebrugge or Antwerp.”