AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/07 Report--

On July 4, local time, the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the European Commission") issued an announcement 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. However, the European Commission said in its announcement that it would continue to consult with the Chinese side with a view to reaching a solution in line with WTO rules.

According to the announcement, three Chinese car companies sampled by BYD, Geely Automobile and SAIC will be levied temporary countervailing duties of 17.4%, 19.9% and 37.6% respectively, with SAIC lower than the tax rate disclosed on June 12. BYD and Geely remain unchanged. In response, the European Commission explained that the change was based on comments submitted by interested parties on the accuracy of the calculation. According to the EU announcement, 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 present, the EU imposes a 10% tariff on all imported cars, which means that the tariff on the export of BYD electric vehicles to Europe will reach 27.4%, Geely 29.9% and SAIC as high as 47.6%.

After the measure was announced, German cars and German businessmen have expressed concern.

"the relevant practices of the European Commission will not work at all, not only can not enhance the competitiveness of European automakers, but may harm those companies that are actively doing business around the world," BMW Group CEO Ciptzer said on the 4th. " German Transport Minister Falk Wissing pointed out that imposing tariffs is a "destructive practice", a solution should be sought through dialogue, and competition should be promoted rather than obstacles created. 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. Matthias Bauer, director of the European Center for International Politics and economy, believes that no one can benefit from the tariff. The EU tax increase has not only affected Chinese car companies, but also hit foreign carmakers producing in China.

China has also given a clear response to the European Commission's imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

The EU-China Chamber of Commerce said on the 4th that the EU should actively promote future coordination in technological innovation, infrastructure and mutual recognition of standards in the automotive field between China and the EU, and play a policy support and guiding role. The EU-China Chamber of Commerce calls on the EU to return to multilateralism that promotes free trade and global cooperation, rather than resorting to protectionism and imposing high tariffs.

He Yadong, spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said at a regular press conference on the 4th that so far, many rounds of consultations have been held at the technical level between China and the EU. There are still four months to go before the final decision. It is hoped that the European side and China will face each other, show sincerity, press ahead with the consultation process, and reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible on the basis of facts and rules.

At noon today, SAIC issued a tweet entitled "further defend SAIC's request for EU to hold a hearing", saying that it will earnestly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and the interests of global customers. SAIC will formally request the European Commission to hold a hearing on China's temporary countervailing duty measures on electric vehicles and further exercise its right of defense in accordance with the law. The content of the defense includes: the European Commission countervailing investigation involves commercially sensitive information, such as the investigation requires cooperation with the provision of battery-related chemical formulations, which is beyond the scope of the normal investigation. There is a mistake in the European Commission's determination of subsidies, such as including subsidies for new energy car purchases to domestic consumers in the calculation of subsidy rates for sales in the European Union. In the course of the investigation, the European Commission ignored some of the information and defense opinions submitted by SAIC and made an adverse presumption based on the so-called "failure to cooperate with the investigation" in Article 28 of the basic countervailing regulations, falsely increasing the subsidy rates for a number of projects.

In addition, Xiaopeng responded to the European Commission's decision to impose temporary countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles. Xiaopeng said it was assessing the feasibility of building manufacturing capacity in Europe to adapt to market changes. At the same time, Xiaopeng promised that existing consumers and those who placed orders before the tariff took effect would not be affected by the price rise. It is understood that Xiaopeng officially entered the German market in March, launching G9 and P7 models, and plans to further expand to Italy, the United Kingdom, France and other European markets.

Wei Lai said that the company closely followed and followed up the relevant progress and measures of the EU countervailing investigation. At this stage, Xilai will maintain the pricing of its products on sale in the European market and will evaluate its market strategy in the light of the progress of tariff policy. We believe that proper market competition is beneficial to users and hope to reach a solution with the European Union before the final measures are implemented in November 2024.

Although the European Union is still promoting the so-called countervailing investigation, Chinese car companies still have cards to play, in which self-built factories and Chinese car companies working together to raise the visibility of new energy products in Europe are their two major killer mace. As for the EU countervailing investigation, the industry also believes that there is no need to worry too much, although European countervailing investigations into Chinese pure electric vehicles may result in additional tariffs of about 20%. However, due to the strong demand for new energy vehicles in the European market, there is still a time window opportunity for China's new energy exports. In addition, the EU countervailing investigation is bound to eat itself up.

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