China has been accused of dumping cheap electric cars on EU countries. But poor sales, price wars and tariff threats have prompted a mood change among some Chinese auto producers.
European policymakers warned a few months ago that the continent was being flooded with cheap Chinese electric vehicles. They accused Beijing of backing major production overcapacity to allow China’s automakers to grow their share of the global EV market.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, launched an anti-subsidy probe into the oversupply issue late last year and warned China’s EV makers that they could face a new import tariff to offset what Brussels said was unfair competition for European carmakers.
The United States is due to levy a 100% import tax on Chinese-made electric cars, up from the current 25%, which will effectively keep Chinese automakers out of the US market. The EU currently levies a 10% tariff.
You have a car that can be found at 10k£ new ?
11 k€ in France, Toyota. Yes. It would be cheaper if it was a second-hand. I’ll pay it with a credit for 5 years. Buying an EV at 20 k€ or 30 k€ would mean a bigger credit with more interest for more than 10 years, and that would be like playing the lottery, not something that I want to do.
The point is that the vehicle is far cheaper than other EVs from the West with comparable specs.