Chinese automakers, including BYD, SAIC and Geely, were told at a meeting on October 10 that they should suspend plans for heavy-asset investments such as setting up factories in countries that support the EV tariffs, according to Reuters.
China has asked its automakers to suspend large-scale investments in European countries that support additional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), Reuters said in a report today, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Ten EU members, including France, Poland and Italy, supported the tariffs in a vote this month, while five, including Germany, opposed them and 12 abstained, the report noted.
Chinese automakers including BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY), SAIC and Geely were told at an October 10 meeting held by the Commerce Ministry that they should suspend plans for heavy-asset investments, such as setting up factories in countries that support the proposal, as Beijing continues to negotiate tariff alternatives, said people familiar with the matter, according to Reuters.
Several foreign automakers also attended the meeting, where the participants were told to be prudent about investing in countries that abstained from voting and were “encouraged” to invest in countries that voted against the tariffs, the report said.
The European Commission formally launched an anti-subsidy investigation on October 4, 2023, into imports of EVs originating in China, claiming that they benefit from unfair state subsidies that are distorting the European market.
On October 4 of this year, EU member states voted to impose additional tariffs on EVs imported from China.
The European Commission announced on October 29 that it had closed its investigation and decided to move forward with imposing additional tariffs for five years.
Those tariffs will be additional to the original 10 percent, with different EV makers facing different rates, 7.8 percent for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), 17.0 percent for BYD, 18.8 percent for Geely, and the highest 35.3 percent for SAIC Motor.
SAIC is in the process of selecting a site in Europe for an EV factory and plans to open a second European parts center in France this year to meet growing demand for MG-branded cars, the Reuters report noted.
The Italian government is in talks with Chery and other Chinese automakers, including Dongfeng Motor, over potential investments, according to the report.
EU pushes ahead with additional tariffs on Chinese EVs, continues discussions on price undertakings