(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- SAIC Motor is buying two purpose-built pure car and truck carriers from compatriot China State Shipbuilding that can each load 7,600 vehicles as overseas orders surge, the country’s biggest carmaker said yesterday.

Powered by liquified natural gas, the dual-fuel vessels can sail for 70 days without refueling, enough to last the round trip between China and Europe, SAIC said. The two ships will be built at State Shipbuilding’s Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai and should be ready by 2024.

The vessels will be delivered to SAIC's logistics arm SAIC Anji Logistics, which runs a fleet of 12 river vessels, 13 sea-tankers for domestic deliveries and six ocean-going carriers for overseas routes.

SAIC is seeking to keep up with demand as the company’s exports jumped 78.9 percent last year from the year before to 697,000 units.

Auto exports doubled last year from 2020 to top two million for the first time reaching 2.015 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Exports accounted for 7.7 percent of the year's sales, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor