Duties on imports from China start Wednesday (October 30) after talks between Brussels and Beijing broke down.
Shanghai-based SAIC Motor, which faces a 35.3% tariff on exports of its electric cars to Europe on top of the EU’s existing 10% rate, requested a hearing from the EU after the punitive measure came into effect.
“SAIC Motor will formally request the European Commission to hold a hearing on the countervailing duties imposed on Chinese-made EVs to further exercise its rights of defence,” the company said in a statement. “The organisation committed errors in determining subsidies.”
EVs have become a major flashpoint in a broader trade dispute over the influence of Chinese government subsidies on EU markets. The duties will stay in force for five years.
The EU’s stance towards Beijing has hardened in the last five years. Duties on Chinese manufacturers will be 18.8% on those from Geely and 17% on cars made by BYD. Other EV manufacturers in China, including Western companies such as Volkswagen and BMW, will be subject to duties of 20.7%.
“The industry is not naive in dealing with China, but the challenges must be resolved in dialogue,” Hildegard Müller, the head of Germany’s auto industry association, VDA, said.
As many as 481,600 battery-electric cars were imported from China into the EU in 2023, valued at €9.7 billion.
