On June 12th, 2024, the EuropeanCommission announced that it will impose tariffs on the import of pure electric vehicles from China starting July 4th, a move that quickly attracted wide spread attention and discussion in the international automotive industry.

According to the European Commission's announcement, the decision to impose tariffs came after an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles imported from China. Different rates of anti-subsidy duties were levied against three Chinese car companies that were sampled: BYD with a rate of 17.4%, Geely at 20%, and SAIC Group at a high of 38.1%.

For electric vehicle manufacturers involved in the investigation but not sampled, an average anti-subsidy duty of 21% will be imposed.

For companies that did not cooperate with the investigation, they will face an anti-subsidy duty as high as 38.1%.

Tesla will have a different tariff rate but not yet released the specific duty rate at this moment.

It is worth noting that the tariffs imposed this time are in addition to the existing 10% import tariffs. This means that Chinese car companies exporting electric vehicles to the EU will face higher tariff barriers.

In addition, the announcement also pointed out that imported goods registered before the implementation date of temporary measures (i.e., April 5th, 2024) may be retroactively levied with import tariffs.

The decision to impose tariffs has had a direct impact on the export business of Chinese car companies. According to statistics, in2023, the total export volume of passenger cars from Chinese car companies toEurope was 910,000 units, of which pure electric vehicles accounted for 624,000units. The EU region, as one of the important export markets for Chinese car companies, this additional tariff will undoubtedly bring considerable pressure...