Top 10 made-in China EVs exported to Europe
In January, Tesla joined BMW and several Chinese automakers including BYD, Geely, and SAIC to file a lawsuit against the European Commission over the bloc’s tariffs on EV imports.
Tesla negotiated a lower duty of 7.8% on its Model 3 and Model Y shipped to the continent from its Shanghai factory but German automaker BMW’s Mini brand of EVs manufactured in China attracts a much-higher 20.7% levy.
BYD, which sold its first EVs in Europe in 2021, was hit with a 17.4% tariff. Geely, which owns the Volvo and Polestar marques, must contend with a 19.9% duty while SAICÂ was slapped with the highest 35.3% rate. Â
SAIC, which is state-owned and was determined to have been uncooperative during the EU investigation into Chinese state subsidies for its EV industry, bought the British brand MG, in 2005.
These levies are additional to the EU’s standard 10% car import duty on vehicles imported from other countries, including the US.
The legal proceedings are expected to take around 18 months, with the possibility of appeals thereafter while these EU tariffs are set to run through 2029.
From January through November 2024, the most recent month with detailed data, shows made-in-China EVs, including plug-in and conventional hybrids, added a combined 29.4 GWh of battery capacity to European roads (including the UK, Russia and non-EU states).
Even without totals from December, historically the most active month for vehicle sales, the tally already exceeds the installed GWh recorded during calendar 2023.
EVs imported into the region from China represented 20% of the region’s total battery capacity deployed in newly sold EVs over the first 11-months of last year.
