Exactly 1,295,009 vehicles were handled at the seaport of Emden in 2023. This was announced by Manfred de Vries, Managing Director of Autoport Emden GmbH. Compared to 2022, this would correspond to an increase of 182,592 vehicles and thus an increase of 16.4 percent. "The port of Emden has thus maintained its position as the third-largest car loading port in the western world," said de Vries. This growth was primarily driven by the almost 22 percent increase in exports.

 The units exported via Emden amounted to 935,506 (share: 72.2 percent). By far the most cars went to England (397,827), followed by the USA (272,083) and Japan (56,133). A total of 359,503 cars were imported from abroad, which corresponds to a share of 27.8 percent. With 126,011 cars, most of the imported automobiles came from South Africa. From Mexico, 104,734 vehicles reached the port of Emden and from Portugal 85,318.

Broken down by brand, Volkswagen dominated with 473,826 and AUDI with 445,634 vehicles. This corresponds to a share of 37 and 34 percent respectively. However, Porsches (127,023), Skodas (100,782), VW commercial vehicles (86,296) and Seats (37,667) also dominated the handling activity in Emden's outer port. 8,738 Bentleys, 4,141 Lamborghinis and 3,621 Mercedes completed the car handling. The number of electric and hybrid vehicles handled in Emden increased by 25.2% from 364,658 to 456,463 vehicles in 2023.

 A total of 610 car carriers moored in the port of Emden last year to bring or collect cars. That was 66 ships more than in 2022, but cars were also delivered and collected by rail. To this end, 151,397 wagons were used (previous year: 157,404). In addition, around 43,000 trucks (previous year: approx. 40,000) were needed for delivery and collection.

Overall, de Vries summed up the past year as a "very good" one for car handling in Emden. "But the ships used to transport cars around the world are getting bigger and heavier. As a result, they also have an ever greater draught. In order to be able to continue to call at Emden, the adjustment of the navigation channel in the Outer Ems is of the utmost importance for car handling," continued de Vries.