Last year, BYD bought the world’s largest car carrier – they just ordered 10 more

This is industry news about the global auto business, not something that touches home energy upgrades directly. BYD, the Chinese carmaker known mainly for electric vehicles, has ordered 10 more giant car-carrying ships, each able to hold 9,200 vehicles. That would bring its owned fleet to 18 ships, with room to move more than 130,000 cars at once. The order follows last year's launch of BYD's "Shenzhen," which was already the world's largest car carrier.

The bigger story here is BYD's rapid push into markets outside China, including Europe and, potentially, North America. In the UK, BYD's vehicle registrations have nearly doubled this year, and the brand now holds about 3.5% of the new car market there, up from under 2% a year ago. Globally, BYD exported 184,000 passenger vehicles last month alone, a 131% jump from a year earlier, and has shipped more than 1.1 million vehicles so far this year.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything about rebates, weatherization programs, or home energy equipment. It's a signal that Chinese electric and hybrid vehicles are becoming more available worldwide, which could eventually affect EV pricing and choices in some markets, but there's no direct action or program tied to this news for your house.