The now more than probable increase in customs duties on electric cars produced in China and imported into Europe divides European manufacturers.
If Stellantis and Renault say they are in favor of a tightening of duties, German manufacturers have a completely different opinion, worried about retaliations on what has been considered their reference market for years. And in the background of the issue there is the United States, ready to launch one of the most important plans to combat Chinese imports ever developed.
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, has clearly come out against the idea of tariffs. “We would be shooting ourselves in the foot.” he said in a speech after the publication of the Bavarian company’s financial data. “At BMW we think that our industry does not need protection”.
Looking at the brand’s financial data, it is easy to understand why BMW – together with the rest of the German manufacturers – is against the tariff hypothesis: 32% of revenues in the first fiscal quarter are the result of sales in China, where BMW produces and then exports the various MINI models and the iX3 towards Europe.
The imposition of duties and the probable Chinese retaliation therefore risks damaging BMW both from an economic and production point of view.
Volkswagen and Mercedes are also against the possibility of raising duties
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen, is on the same wavelength and has spoken openly about possible Chinese retaliation. Volkswagen, like BMW, also depends heavily on the Chinese market, both for sales and production.
Completing the triptych of German producers opposed to tariffs is Mercedes, which had already expressed its opposition to tariffs a few weeks ago. “I am against increasing tariffs on electric products produced in China. I think we should do the opposite, which is to take the tariffs that are already in place and cancel them completely” CEO Ola Källenius told the Financial Times.
The European Union investigation is proceeding at full speed and the first sanctions could arrive as early as July. The most popular hypothesis is that duties on electric vehicles produced in China and exported to Europe – by Chinese or Western producers – are raised up to 27.5%, a share that would align Europe with the United States of America.
Biden ready to launch the largest plan to combat Chinese imports ever
The United States, also thanks to the upcoming presidential elections, seems ready to launch one of the largest plans to combat Chinese imports ever.
A plan that not only provides for a substantial increase in duties on electric cars, but which also affects other sectors linked to clean energy, such as solar cells, batteries and raw materials to be used for their production.
In response to what was proposed by Republican candidate Donald Trump, who talked about raising duties on Chinese electrics imported into the country to 60%, Biden appears ready to sign an executive order that raises tariffs to 100%. A value that is almost quadruple the current one, and which would completely close the door to Chinese producers in the United States, who are already very weak in this market.
Even the auto sector now speaks Chinese: China is ready to become the largest exporter in the world
Unlike Trump’s plan, which aims to hit Chinese imports tout-court, the Biden plan is, as mentioned, more focused on safeguarding the “green” sector of the economy. It is easy to imagine a prompt reaction from the Chinese government, in what promises to be a huge trade war between the two global economic giants. War which, inevitably, will also end up affecting Europe and our automotive sector.
