Eastern wisdom: the Chinese have found a way to circumvent the duties EU on cars

Introduction of customs duties on electric vehicles manufactured in China when imported to the market The EU was aimed at compensating the state aid paid by the Chinese government to European manufacturers and eliminating unfair competition for European manufacturers. Of course, most Chinese electric vehicles were forced to raise prices, and sales fell. But, as the publication informs Profit.Ro , suppliers from The PRC quickly found a solution.

The solution is to hybridize the model range. Not only BYD (probably the largest manufacturer of plug-in hybrid cars in the world), but also MG, Chery and Geely produce and sell, including in Europe, plug-in hybrid cars, which in China are included in the category of vehicles powered by new energy sources (NEV). Industry experts also state that the introduction of customs duties in Europe has forced the Chinese to focus their attention and marketing on this segment of hybrids in order to compensate for the decline in sales of electric vehicles caused by weak market demand and inevitable price increases.

Statistics analyzed by the source publication shows that almost 39,000 cars manufactured in China were sold in Europe in February. The figures show an increase of 64% compared to February 2024 (then the increased tariffs have not yet entered into force — EADaily), but first of all they reflect the growth of market share from 2.5% to 4.1%. At the same time, the segment of fully electric vehicles manufactured in China and sold in Europe decreased by 3.4%, totaling 11,100 units.