A ro-ro ship berthed at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]

Ningbo-Zhoushan port in East China's Zhejiang province handled more than 83,600 cars via roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ships in the first quarter of this year, up 3.2 percent year-on-year, official data from the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Maritime Affairs show.

Among them, exports of cars via the ro-ro shipping at the port surpassed 14,700, double the amount from the same period last year.

Presently, Ningbo has six domestic ro-ro shipping routes and two international ro-ro shopping routes. The city also has partnerships with car brands including BMW, Benz, Audi and Toyota.

Experts attributed the growth in the throughput of vehicles via ro-ro ships in the city to factors including a surge in domestic production capacity of new energy vehicles and their improved market presence.

From January to March, 76 ro-ro ships berthed at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, official statistics show.

The port handled 199 million metric tons of cargo and 5.25 million TEUs in the first two months of this year, up 2.8 percent and 1.1 percent year-on-year respectively.

Cars are prepared for loading onto ro-ro ships at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]