Will Chinese Electric Cars Dominate Europe? U.S. Tariffs Shift Focus

[The Guru=Yoon Jin-Woong Reporter] Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are being identified as disruptive species in the European EV market. It is predicted that most of the supplies will be concentrated in the European market to avoid the heightened trade barriers in the United States. Voices are rising for preemptive measures as there is a possibility of shaking the entire market with affordable prices backed by economies of scale.

Tony Whitehorn, Former President and CEO of Hyundai Motor UK stated at the Business & Law Update for the Automotive sector in London on the 15th (local time), “There will be a large influx of Chinese-made electric vehicles into the European automobile market. The only market Chinese EVs can go to is Europe.” This prediction comes from President Joe Biden of the United States plans to quadruple the tariffs on Chinese EVs, causing most of the export volume to turn towards the European market. He cited that as of last year, Chinese car manufacturers sold about 7 million EVs in the global market and had a production capacity of 20 million units.

He continued, “15 out of 91 Chinese EV OEMs will enter the UK market. They will be as big as the already established Chinese brands like BYD, Chery, SAIC, and the Great Wall.” He noted, “The Chinese produce excellent EVs at much cheaper prices than other manufacturers. They have already achieved economies of scale by accumulating expertise in EVs over the past decade.” As Chinese EVs are being pointed out as a disturbance to the European EV ecosystem, the UK government has rushed to consider adjusting tariffs on

Chinese EVs. Mark Harper, the UK’s Minister of Transport, hinted, “We are taking strong measures for fair international trade.” The main point was to adjust tariffs based on the proportion of Chinese EVs in the UK EV market.

The European Union Executive Commission is also preparing a containment plan against Chinese EVs. They announced, “If we judge unfair subsidies being paid to Chinese EVs, we can impose tariffs.” It is explained that preliminary tariffs can be imposed for Chinese EVs from July as soon as possible, and permanent tariffs that require the participation of most member countries could be imposed in November. An investigation is currently underway to determine whether to impose tariffs.

Meanwhile, this Automotive Industry and Law Conference was co-hosted by the Motor Ombudsman, an autonomous regulatory agency for the automobile industry supported by the UK government, and Radius Law, a UK legal services firm.