Visitors looking at models from BYD, a Chinese automobile manufacturer, during an event a day ahead of the official opening of the 2023 Munich Auto Show IAA Mobility, in Munich, Germany on Sep 4, 2023. BRUSSELS: Cheap and heavily subsidised Chinese electric vehicles are flooding the market – this was the warning from senior European Union officials that sparked a probe into unfair trade practices late last year.
The additional tariffs were the result of an EU probe into alleged unfair state subsidies given to China’s car manufacturing industry that posed an economic threat to European rivals.The level of tariffs set for specific EV makers depended on the level of state subsidies received by the firms. They come on top of an existing 10 per cent levy on cars imported into the EU.
Some fear that costlier vehicles could reduce demand and undermine the bloc’s goal to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035.China-EU business consultant Bart Horsten said that consumer confidence is based on the security of a product’s future, and that a potential buyer could be put off by the uncertainty of how much an electric vehicle costs.Meanwhile, some industry players said competition is key to driving innovation.
ABB E-mobility, with its new range of fast charging stations, is one of the firms trying to get the expansion of the EU’s charging infrastructure back on track.