The European Commission told automakers on Wednesday it would impose extra duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese electric cars from July, risking retaliation from Beijing which called the move protectionist, Reuters reports.
Less than a month after Washington announced plans to quadruple duties for Chinese EVs to 100%, Brussels said it would set additional tariffs ranging from 17.4% for BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab to 38.1% for SAIC (600104.SS), opens new tab, on top of the standard 10% car duty. It said this was to combat excessive subsidies.
European automakers, meanwhile, are being challenged by an influx of lower-cost EVs from Chinese rivals. The Commission estimates Chinese brands' share of the EU market has risen to 8% from below 1% in 2019 and could reach 15% in 2025. It says prices are typically 20% below those of EU-made models.
European policymakers are keen to avoid a repeat of what happened with solar panels a decade ago when the EU took only limited action to curb Chinese imports and many European manufacturers collapsed. The EU launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chineses EVs in October.
