It looks like Chinese EVs may not be as affordable in the EU anymore
The European Commission will start customs registration of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports on Thursday, meaning they could be hit by tariffs from that point if the EU’s trade investigation later concludes that they are receiving unfair subsidies. This means the prices of Chinese EVs may go up there very soon.
The European Commission is carrying out an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese battery EVs to determine whether to impose tariffs to protect European producers. The probe is due to conclude by November, although the EU could impose provisional duties in July. Let’s see how this affects sales for Chinese EV brands in the region.
Moreover, in a document published on Tuesday, the Commission said it had sufficient evidence tending to show Chinese EVs were being subsidised and that imports had increased by 14 percent year-on-year since the investigation was formally launched in October. With this, we may see a drop in sales this year instead.
The Commission also said EU producers could suffer harm, which would be difficult to repair, if Chinese imports continued at this accelerated rate before the conclusion of the investigation. Well, whatever they say, we all know the truth, and that is just that Chinese EVs are outselling European ones so this is their way of “rectifying” that.
The China Chamber of Commerce said to the EU that it was disappointed by the move and that the surge of imports reflected increasing European demand for EVs. This is not the first time a country has threatened China with the prospect of taxes and it certainly won’t be the last so let’s see how they overcome this issue.
On top of that, with so many European brands like BMW, Skoda and Jaguar all offering a comprehensive range of EVs in their lineups and in some cases even already going or moving towards fully electrifying their offerings, the EU definitely needs to stop sales of Chinese EVs to push their cars instead.
Obviously with brands like BYD taking the throne in terms of global EV sales and exports, the whole world knows that Chinese EVs are no longer low quality or just cheap without offering any worthwhile features. Most new Chinese EVs actually offer more features for a more affordable price and this is what makes them so popular.
We got all this from Reuters and their full article is linked here. Thank you Reuters for the information and images.
