The Vado Gateway terminal aims to become one of the main hubs of automotive logistics. With the establishment of the Vehicle Logistic Vado company, a result of an agreement between the Fratelli Cosulich group and XCA (a company in turn formed by the collaboration between Arcese Trasporti and Conti), a commercial line is launched to import motor vehicles from China and use the quays of the Vado port as a gateway to Europe. In recent weeks, Santi Casciano, the new CEO of Vado Gateway and Reefer Terminal, has been in China to finalize agreements to create a new maritime connection for the transport of cars.

The ships will carry the vehicles in special "flat rack containers" (open to facilitate loading and unloading and foldable onto themselves once empty). After docking in the port of Vado, the cars can be sent again by ship to other Mediterranean ports or sent to their destination by land on trucks and trains. New traffic will be based at the Vado port, which adds to the connections managed by Savona Terminal Auto on the quays in front of the Torretta. Savona Terminal Auto, for example, manages the shipment of 40,000 electric Fiat 500s produced in Turin to the United States. As for the Vehicle Logistic Vado company's service, it will be different and independent. The goal is to become the arrival base for cars produced in China and imported into Europe. "Thanks to the ro-ro quay of Reefer Terminal, 200 meters long with a railway connection that offers the possibility of activating car trains, depths

capable of accommodating ships up to 17.25 meters, and a specific know-how matured, the Vado Gateway port system has all the technical characteristics and the necessary skills to serve this market best and is a candidate to become one of the main gateways in the Mediterranean for automotive logistics. In 2023, we recorded an increase in car volumes of +284% and in the first quarter of 2024 traffic marked a +38% compared to the same period last year", explains Casciano.