Rami Ungar's shipping company ordered new ships from China for $1 billion

Vehicle exports from China continue to break records every month, posing a heavy logistical challenge for vehicle importers in Israel and around the world. Alongside this, the growing volumes are creating new business opportunities for companies operating in the shipping sector.

Professional shipping newspaper Tradewinds reported this week that the international shipping company Ray Shipping, owned by businessman and vehicle importer Rami Ungar, has submitted an order to shipyards in China for the construction of advanced car carrier ships worth over $1 billion.

This is one of the largest orders ever submitted to shipyards in China by a single company. The order includes about 10 new ships with a capacity of over 8,500 vehicles each. Construction of the ships will be completed by 2029, and it is likely that they are all already pre-chartered to global car shipping companies.

Sources note that this is a strategic turning point for the company, which until now had ordered most of its ships at shipyards in South Korea. However, Ray Shipping continues to order ships in Korea as well, and in April of this year, it was reported that the Ungar family had submitted a new order to Hyundai shipyards worth about $300 million.

According to sources in China, Ray Shipping is currently among the five largest companies in the world in the field of construction and chartering of car carrier ships. The company's fleet includes 66 chartered ships, alongside seven other ships currently under construction in Korea. In 2023, the company held a share of about 9% of the global fleet of such ships, and today its share is significantly larger.

In addition, the international press reports that the family's shipping group is steadily expanding its operations in the construction, acquisition, and chartering of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC). The Ungar family was one of the bidders in the tender for the privatization of the Port of Haifa, which was eventually won by the Indian Adani Group.

Demand for ships is breaking records

Demand for car carrier ships is breaking new records this year, against the backdrop of the sharp surge in exports from China. According to reports from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in July 2026, the monthly export volume stood at about 1.1 million vehicles. This is the second consecutive month in which exports of over one million vehicles have been recorded - a new historical record. Cumulatively, in January-July of this year, about 6.4 million vehicles were exported from China, a jump of more than 60% compared to the same period last year.

Extensive export volumes are meeting a limited supply of car carrier ships, and as a result, the daily charter prices have doubled. No response was received from the Ungar family.

Media in China report that Israel has become the third-largest market in the Middle East for Chinese vehicle exports, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Because of this, vehicle importers in Israel report significant difficulties in securing transport capacity on lines until the end of the year and at the beginning of 2027, alongside a sharp price increase.

Xiaomi vehicles: launching in Europe and Israel

Vehicles from the Chinese brand Xiaomi are expected to land at the end of the second quarter of 2027 in Europe. In the local automotive industry, it is estimated that at the same time, they may land in Israel.

The brand's electric vehicles, which until recently included only two premium-sport models, have enjoyed dizzying sales success in the Chinese market with over 760 thousand cumulative deliveries. Due to excess demand in the Chinese market, the company had so far refrained from exporting, but recently completed an expansion of its production volume.

Import to Israel is expected to be carried out by the Hamilton Group, while service and logistics will be carried out in cooperation with the Hamizrachi Group of the Eini family. No request for an import license has been submitted yet. It was previously reported that the vehicles will be placed in general Xiaomi showrooms across the country.

Last month, Xiaomi launched for the first time in China two large and luxurious multi-seat crossover vehicles with plug-in propulsion. The new series, called SKYNOMAD, includes two models: the "short" model is 4.96 meters long, with a price in China starting at about $38,000. The long model stretches to 5.285 meters and its price starts at about $44,000. In Israel, after taxes, this is a potential price of 300,000-400,000 shekels. The price of the company's electric models starts in China at about $30,000 and may start in Israel in the area of 200,000-220,000 shekels.

Efraim Aharoni, one of the owners of Hamilton, said in response: "We are preparing to import the vehicles to Israel subject to European standardization approval. Further details to follow."

First Chinese brand of heavy trucks in Israel

Chinese manufacturers are preparing to enter the heavy truck segment. The company Horizon Motors, owned by the Katz family and the Generation fund, officially announced the start of marketing the first heavy truck produced by FAW Trucks.

Comprehensive local activity will be established in Israel, including a sales, service, and support system under the brand "FAW Israel". The activity will be managed by Lawrence Moalem, who previously served as CEO of the transport company Metropolin. In the first stage, the J7 series will be marketed in Israel with power of up to 560 hp according to the Euro 6 standard.