This has only started. And the reactions to the European Commission’s decision to establish maximum tariffs of 38.1% on electric vehicles manufactured in China have begun to cascade. On the same day of the announcement, the Chinese government expressed its displeasure with the decision threatening to retaliate in the matter and even announcing that it would increase export tariffs to 25% (they are currently at 15%). Countries like Sweden was not happy either. while as far as manufacturers are concerned, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and even Stellantis itself positioned themselves on the critical side towards the European decision.
However, the leading voice in these protests has been carried out by Germany. The vice chancellor himself, Robert Habeck, immediately described it as a commercial stagnation to now take the next step. And the weight that said country has in decision-making is well known, especially when it is the largest economy in the entire Old Continent. For this reason, the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pushing to obtain a “friendly solution”. So much so, that he is beginning to demand that China make a serious move and hopes that talks in the coming weeks can avoid a escalation of the trade conflict that is about to begin. In fact, according to Habeck’s own calendar, a official trip to China for next week, where the issue of tariffs is scheduled to be discussed with Chinese officials.
Europeans affected
It must be remembered that the imposition of these tariff rates would not only affect manufacturers of the size of BYD, SAIC or Geely, but also would harm Western manufacturers that have their factories located there. In this case we are talking about brands such as Tesla, BMW, Volvo, Dacia and CUPRA among others. The Californian, which could receive an individually calculated rate of duty, manufactures the Model 3 in Shanghai, which has already announced that it could raise its price from July 1, while BMW not only produces the iX3 (test), but also the new electric Minis, among which is the new Aceman. As for Volvo, this decision could harm the excellent sales of the EX30 (contact), which in these first two months of life is already bordering on fourth place in electric registrations. However, Volvo has already planned that part of its production will be destined for the Ghent factory, in Belgium.
Finally, Dacia exports the Spring (test) that would lose that reputation of being one of the most economical electric cars on the market. In the case of the Spanish firm, CUPRA, is just as worrying since the Tavascan (contact) It is produced entirely there, unlike what happens with its twin cousins, the Skoda Enyaq (SUV and Coupé test) and the Volkswagen ID.5 (GTX test). However, the estimates of some economists ensure that the immediate effect of additional tariffs would be very small in economic terms. The EU imported around 440,000 electric vehicles from China in the 12 months that were worth 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion) in April, or about 4 percent of household spending on vehicles. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy has predicted that a 20% tariff would reduce Chinese electric vehicle imports by 25%largely offset by increased production in Europe, although European automakers would not necessarily fill the gap.
