EU puts 38% tariff on Chinese EVs one day after Nico Rosberg highlighted massive cost disparity

Nico Rosberg had recently pointed out the massive difference in prices of Chinese EVs and its European counterparts.

EU puts 38% tariff on Chinese EVs one day after Nico Rosberg highlighted massive cost disparity

Nico Rosberg (via IMAGO) Xiaomi EV (via Nico Rosberg LinkedIn)

The automotive industry is going through a period of transition. Electric vehicles are the future with ICE cars slowly on the verge of being replaced. However, many are worried that China would take over the car industry with its cheap EVs. A day after 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg expressed his concerns, the European Union (EU) announced tariffs on Chinese-built EVs.

In a LinkedIn post, Nico Rosberg revealed that the average price of a European EV was €14,000 more than the Chinese-built counterparts. The German driver claimed that this gave Chinese firms a significant advantage when it came to European buyers. Rosberg recently got the chance to drive several Chinese EVs during his trip to Shanghai. However, the 38-year-old was concerned if European carmakers could match the Chinese OEMs.

Interesting fact! The average price of a European EV in 2023 was €46,000 versus just under €32,000 for EVs from Chinese OEMs! This puts Chinese car manufacturers in an excellent position to attract European buyers.
Nico Rosberg wrote on LinkedIn
YouTube video

Just a day after this post, the EU released a wave of new tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, ranging from 17.4 to 38.1%. This would apply to all EVs built in China including BMWs and Teslas. The range of the tariff applied to a carmaker depends on the level of cooperation done during the EU’s investigation in this field which started last October.

Chinese Foreign Ministry warns EU over EV tariffs

The aforementioned tariffs will be put in place by July 4. Moreover, to overturn this decision, at least 15 EU member states representing 65% of the population must vote against this proposal. Certainly, this is the biggest step made by the European Union in tackling the problem of Chinese EVs dominating the market in recent years.

BYD EV plant in Hefei, China
BYD EV plant in Hefei, China (via IMAGO)

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is not happy with this announcement. A spokesperson claimed that these tariffs went against the principles of international trade and market economy. Moreover, he asserted that this would not only undermine EU-China cooperation but could risk destabilising the global automotive production and supply chain.

It goes against the principles of market economy and international trade rules, undermines China-EU economic and trade cooperation as well as the stability of the global automobile production and supply chain.
The Spokesperson said, as reported by BBC

Certainly, the automotive industry would be massively impacted by the EU’s tariffs. Chinese EVs are already facing troubles in the US due to political tensions between the two countries. With these tariffs, carmakers such as BYD and Geely could lose significant market share to European EVs in the coming years.

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