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Ceva to set up electric auto hub in Dunkerque

[ March 15, 2024   //   ]

The Port of Dunkirk and Ceva Logistics – now part of CMA CGM – have signed a contract to develop a 9.5-hectare new finished vehicle sea import and export hub in the eastern part of the harbour.

The site will include vehicle reception and storage areas and rail and road loading facilities.

CEVA expects to handle around 47,000 vehicles a year initially, rising to 95,000 by March 2025. In the medium term, Ceva will double its capacity with an additional 10.5 hectares of land, bringing the total area to 20 hectares and 8,700 parking spaces.

A 600sq m workshop will offer washing, plate fitting and other detailing and mechanical services on up to 50,000 vehicles per year. A paint shop is also planned, as well as the installation of electric charging stations and a service station. 

Ceva – whose parent company CMA CGM took over specialist automotive logistics firm Gefco in 2022 – operates 3,000 trucks and 3,000 car-carrier rail wagons, along with chartered car carrying ships.

The Port of Dunkirk describes itself as the gateway to France’s ‘battery valley’ and the only European port to offer comprehensive electric mobility facilities.

The partners say that most ports in Northern Europe have suffered congestion since the resumption of automobile production after Covid and that the new hub will offer an alternative.

This hub is expected to create 37 direct jobs, along with others at subcontractors and the supply chain.

Ceva Logistics chief executive, Mathieu Friedberg, described the new centre as: “A strategic development that will enable us to increase the efficiency and resilience of the supply chains of our customers, exporters and importers. The new location will enhance the region’s logistics potential, while supporting our customers’ expansion into new markets.”

Dunkerque chairman, Maurice Georges, added: “The port will enter a new era, that of electric mobility. Its arrival will enable us to offer a complete range of services to automakers. This is Dunkirk’s new industrial model, based on the principles of a circular, low-carbon economy. Together, we’re going to accelerate the energy transition and achieve carbon neutrality, while generating additional maritime traffic.”

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