Route changes and rising costs in maritime transport underscore the impact on the distribution of Japanese cars in Europe. Changes in the Red Sea situation have led to more vessels routing around the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in higher freight rates and insurance premiums.
Japanese cars transported to Europe primarily follow a route from the Indian Ocean through the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, an area considered vulnerable to the Red Sea crisis. Disruptions since the end of 2023 have led to route changes and an increase in services routing around the Cape of Good Hope. UNCTAD estimates that switching to this route adds approximately 12 days to a voyage. The effects could extend across logistics as a whole, including finished vehicles and parts. Follow-up coverage is expected to focus on the extent of the route changes and changes in logistics costs.
During the Red Sea crisis, UNCTAD reported that freight rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam approximately doubled, while those from Shanghai to Genoa surged 350%. Reports also indicate that war-risk insurance premiums rose from approximately 0.5% to approximately 1% of the vessel’s value, making higher insurance costs unavoidable. These cost increases could affect not only finished-vehicle transport but also parts procurement and production plans.
The risk of disruptions to parts logistics has become more apparent than that affecting finished vehicles. Because manufacturers procure a diverse range of parts, including semiconductors, ECUs, sensors, motors and battery components, from suppliers around the world, delays to ocean shipments could destabilize factory production plans themselves. Toyota, Nissan and Honda are expanding local production, but diversifying parts supply networks remains a challenge, making flexibility in logistics routes important.
It is considered important to identify changes in the situation at an early stage. Some have called for close monitoring not only of blockades of straits but also of changes in shipping routes, revisions to insurance terms and port congestion. As of September 2026, developments in Yemen were still affecting navigation conditions around the straits, raising concerns about indirect effects on the production and sales of Japanese automakers.