EU Imports of China’s EVs Surge Ahead of Tariffs
China shipped in September the second-highest number of electric vehicles to the European Union on record, as the EU prepares to slap hefty import tariffs on Chinese EVs due to unfair subsidizing.
Last month, the EU imported a total of 60,517 EVs from China, the second-highest number on record, following the October 2023 record-high of 67,455 Chinese EVs imported into the EU, right after the block announced it would investigate China’s subsidies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing customs data.
Early this month, the European Commission said it had received enough support from EU member states to impose hefty tariffs of up to 45% on imports of electric vehicles from China.
The European Commission’s proposal to impose definitive duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China “has obtained the necessary support from EU Member States for the adoption of tariffs,” the Commission said.
A number of EU member states abstained in the vote. Germany and Spain have recently voiced their opposition to the tariffs, fearing an all-out trade war with China with potential retaliatory Chinese tariffs on EU cars, pork, dairy, and brandy.
The current duties, in effect from July 5, are provisional and for a maximum period of four months.
The EU and China are negotiating a potential alternative solution to the tariffs, but if they do not reach an agreement, the import duties will come into force at the end of this month.
German carmakers, which have a large market in China, have opposed the EV import duties.
“The European anti-subsidy tariffs would not only affect Chinese manufacturers but also European companies and their joint ventures in particular,” VDA, Germany’s automakers’ association, has said.
Following this month’s EU vote on imposing the tariffs, Oliver Zipse, chief executive of German auto giant BMW, said “Today’s vote is a fatal signal for the European automotive industry. What is needed now is a quick settlement between the EU Commission and China to prevent a trade conflict from which no one gains.”