The European Union (EU) has notified China that it intends to impose import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) of up to 38%, triggering duties of more than €2bn (£1.7bn) a year and a possible trade war with the world’s second largest economy.
Under the plan, Brussels will apply five levels of tariffs. EV manufacturers that have cooperated with EU investigators will reportedly face a tariff of 21%, while those who did not will be hit with the a tariff of 38.1%.
The charges come on top of an existing 10% levy on passenger cars being imported into the EU from China, meaning Chinese-made electric cars face total tariffs of up to 48%.
The move follows a nine-month investigation into alleged unfair state subsidies into Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEVs), including brands such as BYD, Geely – part owner of Swedish brand Polestar – and Shanghai’s SAIC, which owns British brand MG and has a joint venture with Volkswagen in China.
The BYD Seagull for example, is BYD’s cheap EV option and has a starting price of 69,800 yuan (US$9,600; £7,500) in China. If it comes to Europe, it is expected to cost at least double that figure due to safety regulations.
Last year, more than eight million EVs were sold in China – about 60% of the global total, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual Global EV Outlook.
China’s domestic automotive industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Its development, along with that of the battery sector, was a major component of the ‘Made In China 2025’ strategy, a 10-year industrial policy launched by the Communist Party in Beijing in 2015.
Reacting to the decision, and in light of Germany’s reported growing tension with the EU regarding the impacting Chinese EVs are having on the emergence of its own EV market, Berlin’s transport minister took to X.
Berlin’s transport minister, Volker Wissing, said: “The European Commission’s punitive tariffs hit German companies and their top products.
“Cars must become cheaper through more competition, open markets and significantly better business conditions in the EU, not through trade war and market isolation.”
Achievements and innovations in EV charging infrastructure will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
