AUTONEWS

European Union revealed the provisional taxes to be imposed on electric vehicles imported from China

The provisional taxes on the import of electric vehicles from China were announced, as the definitive values ​​will have to be corrected once the report on the investigation that European officials carried out in China into the illegal subsidies granted to builders by the local government is known and that, if suspected, go against international trade treaties. On July 4, when the conclusions of Europe's investigation into Chinese trade practices are made public, these fees will need to be corrected and increased. This is if the real situation turns out to be more harmful than current suspicions, which have already opened up room for variable rates depending on the manufacturer and their respective collaboration in the scrutiny of European entities.

According to CNBC, those responsible for the European Union (EU) are inclined to apply the lowest rate to BYD, since this Chinese manufacturer, instead of the current 10%, will see its vehicles exposed to import taxes. of 17.4%. It has not yet been clarified whether the models that will be manufactured in Europe, in the factory that BYD is building in Hungary and which is scheduled to open in 2026, will also be subject to these fees, since the manufacturer enjoys the aforementioned taxes in the country of origin. aid considered illegal.

Geely, a group that, among other brands, owns Volvo and Polestar (which also manufacture in China), will bear 20% fees when entering Europe, which has led these two manufacturers to take the decision to move to Europe. Europe and the USA the production of its models. Interestingly, the brands least penalized by the new import taxes are not owned by the Chinese State, with Geely being 100% owned by private individuals and BYD having as shareholders reputable Western investors such as Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, and companies associated with the North American BlackRock, with interests in Portugal.

The Chinese manufacturer most penalized is SAIC, whose models will have to pay 38.1% to enter the European space, as the group decided not to cooperate with the investigation. It turns out that this manufacturer, wholly owned by the Chinese State, is one of those that has joint ventures with the Volkswagen Group (in addition to the North American GM), producing some VW and Audi models in Chinese territory. But it will be mainly the models produced by SAIC that are on sale in Europe that will lose competitiveness, as is the case with MG and Maxus.

In an intermediate position in terms of additional fees are the brands that agreed to collaborate with the investigation, but that have not yet been analyzed, all of them paying 21% from now on. It remains to be seen what treatment will be given to the remaining Chinese manufacturers who intend to export to Europe, especially the larger ones, as is the case of the groups already mentioned, but also GAC, Nio, Li Auto, Chery, Great Wall and Jag, knowing that there are around 100 manufacturers manufacturing electric vehicles in China.

Among Western brands that produce on Chinese soil but export to the West, such as Tesla, BMW and Mini, it is known that Elon Musk's brand requested lower tariffs for Model 3s sent from Shanghai, request that the Commission will analyze before announcing the final tariffs on 4 July.

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