AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/14 Report--

Recently, according to media reports, EU member states will vote on a plan to impose temporary tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles on the 15th. Reported that Germany may abstain from voting in this vote. In addition, the report also said that informed personnel revealed that the main reason why Germany may abstain this time is that countervailing investigations are continuing and negotiations between the European Commission and the Chinese government are also under way.

It is understood that the European Union had previously decided to impose a temporary tariff of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles imported from China. Although the move does not require the support of member states, if a "sufficient majority" of the 27 EU member states disagree, the tariff plan will eventually be blocked.

Review of the incident: on July 4, local time, the European Commission announced that it had decided to impose a temporary countervailing duty on electric vehicles imported from China from July 5 for a maximum period of four months. In the meantime, EU member states will vote on the final countervailing measures, and if passed, the EU will formally impose a five-year countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles. According to the announcement, three sampled Chinese car companies, BYD, Geely Automobile and SAIC, will be subject to temporary countervailing duties of 17.4%, 19.9% and 37.6%, respectively. Other Chinese car companies that cooperate but are not sampled will be subject to a weighted average tariff of 20.8 per cent, while those without cooperation will have a tax rate of 37.6 per cent.

At that time, the decision to impose temporary countervailing duties against the European Commission also triggered strong protests from many German car companies and people in the industry. Executives of BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen immediately said that import duties should not be imposed on cars from China, which would not reduce the competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles. "the relevant practices of the European Commission will not work at all, not only will it not enhance the competitiveness of European automakers, but may hurt those companies that are actively doing business around the world," said Chipze, chief executive of BMW Group. " At the same time, German Transport Minister Falk Wissing also pointed out that imposing tariffs is a "destructive practice" and that solutions should be sought through dialogue and should promote competition rather than create obstacles. Hildegard Muller, president of the German Automobile Industry Association, also said that China and the EU must strive to find a solution through open and constructive dialogue.

In fact, it is easy to understand that Germany may abstain from voting. Because compared with other EU member states, China is the main export market of German cars, accounting for a relatively large proportion. Taking Germany's three major brands, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, for example, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi sold 751700, 824932 and 729042 vehicles respectively in China last year, accounting for 1/3 of their global sales, reaching 36.8 per cent, 36.6 per cent and 38.5 per cent respectively. It is not hard to see that the Chinese market means a lot to German carmakers. If the EU imposes tariffs on Chinese electric cars, Germany will probably be hit to a certain extent.

In this regard, some professionals have pointed out that if the European Union really imposes temporary tariffs, and if China also carries out reciprocal tariff measures, it will have a certain impact on the German and European automobile industries. Germany, Europe's largest economy and the EU country that will be hardest hit by tariffs, will also play a decisive role in tomorrow's vote.

At present, with the rapid rise of domestic new energy vehicles, many Chinese car companies are also stepping into Europe, which makes many EU countries worry that their automobile industry will be affected. It is hoped that the competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles in the European market will be weakened by imposing temporary tariffs. However, with regard to this operation of the EU, many industry insiders said that this is not in line with the interests of the EU and will not only have a negative impact on European consumers and enterprises, but also hinder the development of the EU's local electric vehicle market. In the long run, the improvement of the competitiveness of the European automobile industry should be achieved through innovation and free trade, rather than relying on protectionist measures to protect local car companies.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat