Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen catch a break in Europe
The European Union has slashed import tariffs on made-in-China electric vehicles from Tesla, Mini and Seat from those first proposed in June.
Duties on Tesla Model Ys made in its Shanghai factory will be reduced to 9% from the 20.8% indicated in June, while the all-electric Mini, made by BMW’s joint venture in China will now attract a 21.3% levy from 37.6% before as would Volkswagen subsidiary Seat which manufactures the popular Cupra Tavascan compact crossover in the country.
All other import duties on Chinese manufacturers including Geely, Nio, Xpeng, Leapmotor, JAC and Great Wall Motors, were also reduced, but by less than 1%.
The tariff imposed on BYD, the top BEV and PHEV maker worldwide, will be reduced to 17% from 17.4% before while SAIC, which did not co-operate with the anti-subsidy investigation, sees its levy reduced to 36.3%.
These punitive tariffs come on top of a 10% duty already levied on all vehicle exports into the EU. Once approved by member states, expected to be a formality, will come into effect by the end of October and could be retroactively applied.
Nearly 320,000 of the EVs that found buyers in Europe, including the UK and non-EU states, in the first six months of 2024 came from China out of a total of just over 2.3 million sold on the continent.
The majority of the imports were BEVs affording Chinese imports a fifth of the market for full electric vehicles in the region.
Adamas Intelligence data shows that just over 19%, or 15.0 GWh, of the combined battery capacity of EVs sold in Europe in H1 2024 were made-in-China, primarily non-Chinese brands.
Geely, owner of the Volvo and Polestar marques, was the most successful exporter to Europe during H1 2024, upping the combined battery capacity of its vehicles hitting roads for the first time by 155% to 4.7 GWh, overtaking Tesla’s Chinese exports for the first time during the second quarter.
BYD’s infiltration of the European market is also gathering steam with a 428% jump in GWh terms in the first half compared to 2023, but Groupe Renault’s Dacia brand imports, BMW’s made-in-China EVs and the Volkswagen-badged imports from its SAIC joint venture have retreated this year.
Overall, European drivers (including the UK, Russia and non-EU states) added 77.5 GWh to the region’s car parc, a 5% increase over H1 2023. By contrast, made-in-China EVs imported into the region grew 58% in GWh terms.
Adamas take:
From January through June this year the combined battery capacity of Chinese-made EVs climbed to 223.3 GWh, a remarkable 61% of the global total. The country also exported 28.7 GWh of installed battery power to the rest of the world.
Faced with stiff competition and paper thin margins in China, the country’s domestic automakers are keen to roll into new markets. The Chinese EV industry’s cost competitiveness and overcapacity at home will blunt the impact of EU tariffs which are far less draconian than that of the US where levies where quadrupled last year to more than 100%.