Chery is building the volumes of cars it ships in containers from China to Turkey supported by DP World operations at tthe Yarímca container terminal.

dpworldevyap-korfez

The DP World Evyap Körfez terminal 

DP World is growing its Cars in Containers service in Turkey with preparations now being made at the Evyap Körfez container terminal for operations to begin this week. DP World plans to move 1,500 containers of vehicles from the terminal in 2025, part of a wider plan to move 15,000 containers of vehicles through the year to Turkey. 

DP World merged its Yarímca terminal at Izmit with the neighbouring terminal run by Evyapport in July last year and rebranded the terminals DP World Evyap Yarímca and DP World Evyap Körfez. The merged terminals offer 2,088 metres of berth to accommodate larger container vessels, with annual handling capacity set to reach above 2m TEUs. The operation also provides services for project and heavy lift cargo. The merged company at Izmit, DP World Evyap, said it had access to “advanced road and rail links”, and would be able expedite turnaround times supported by a 900-strong logistics team.

Last year DP World Turkey moved 9,000 containers of finished vehicles, with more than 90% coming from China. That followed a move made by Chery Automobile in China to navigate congestion at Turkey’s ro-ro ports in 2023 by switching some volumes to containerisation. Initially, 10,000 SUVs were imported to Turkey through DP World’s Yarímca terminal. A spokesperson for DP World confirmed that regular operations continue to be focused on Chery deliveries to Turkey, with limited services added for other brands.

DP World is also providing containerised car handling at its recently opened facility at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The company is looking at containerised car shipments as a valuable alternative to ro-ro, which has been hit by capacity shortages in recent years. Since its takeover of vehicle containerisation provider CFR Rinkens in 2023, the mode of transport represents a strategic shift over the past two years to tackle delays, increased costs and inefficiencies, according to Christoph Seitz, global vice-president of finished vehicles at DP World.