In a sign of how stretched capacity is globally, BYD has retrofitted a ship previously used to move pulp to make it capable of carrying cars to South America.

Mr Schmidt said: “This issue has left a big hole in the global automotive logistical chain and that is acting as a headwind for exports from China to Europe.

“So we are seeing volumes stagnating at about 30,000 units per month and it appears the Chinese firms simply cannot break through that figure at the moment.

“It is definitely going to be a big speed bump as these brands try to get more market share in Europe.”

Several “pure car pure truck” (PCTC) transporters were scrapped during the Covid pandemic and shipyards did not recover quickly enough to replace them all and meet resurgent demand as economies reopened.

Now, companies including BYD, MG owner SAIC and Volvo-owner Geely are scrambling for capacity.

Stephen Gordon, of maritime freight research firm Clarksons, said the shortage had sent charter prices for PCTC vessels to a record of $115,000 (£90,000) per day, or about $42m a year.

There are around 760 of them in operation globally, typically with a capacity for 6,500 cars each.

But although another 185 are on order at shipyards, they take three to four years to make, with the global fleet size only due to increase by about 8pc in 2024.

Mr Gordon said: “In the short term, we are expecting prices to stay relatively firm.”

Disruption being caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea is also expected to add to car makers’ costs, as they are forced to send vessels around the southern tip of Africa instead.