The Chinese car boosts automobile traffic at the port of Barcelona

BarcelonaThe port of Barcelona has become one of the main gateways to Europe for cars manufactured in China, especially electrified models. Vehicle traffic at the Barcelona infrastructure continues to grow: it rose by 4.3% between January and August, but with electric and hybrid car figures skyrocketing, with a 60% increase.

According to data provided this Thursday by the Port Authority, in the first eight months of the year, 487,970 units have passed through the port's facilities, with an increase of 4.3% thanks to growth in imports and transits. In contrast, export figures are similar to those of 2025. The good results of electric and hybrid vehicles stand out, which have totaled 90,996 units (+60.3%) and represent 18.65% of the total.

In general, freight traffic through the port of Barcelona continues the growth path this year, especially due to the momentum of liquid and solid bulk. Freight traffic at the port between January and August of this year has totaled 47,530,886 tons, with an increase of 1.5% compared to the same period in 2025. Container traffic has been 2,533,725 TEU (-0.1%), practically the same figure as in the first eight months of last year.

However, the good results of liquid bulk stand out, reaching 11.3 million tons (+2.9%) and reflecting the excellent results of chemical products, which increased by 53.3%, and biofuels, which grew by 40.7%. Solid bulk reached 2.6 million tons (+2.7%) thanks to increases in potash (+13%), cement and clinker (+11.3%), and soybeans (+9.4%).

Regarding ro-ro traffic (trucks and trailers), in the first eight months of 2026, 302,095 UTI (intermodal transport units) have been moved, a figure that represents an increase of 3%.

Passengers

Between January and August, a total of 4.1 million passenger movements have occurred at the port of Barcelona, 5.1% more than the previous year. Of these, 1,328,958 correspond to ferry passengers. Regarding cruises, a total of 1.6 million cruise passengers have visited the city of Barcelona.