- Chinese automakers flooded the European market with EVs in June to avoid new tariffs.
- SAIC’s MG and BYD achieved record sales in Europe before hefty EU duties took effect.
- Despite new EU tariffs, Chinese EV makers saw a surge in market share and registrations.
With harsh tariffs for Chinese automakers coming into place last month, with levies of up to 38 percent slapped on battery electric vehicles, the challenge for the eastern brands was to sell as much as they could.
And sell they did, with Chinese automakers managing to capture a record-breaking 11 percent of the European EV market for June 2024. Cars sold before July 5th could be done so without having to comply with the added duties, which saw dealers offering attractive leasing plans and discounts. In June, China’s automakers registered more than 23,000 BEVs across Europe.
Read: EU Could Slash 37.6% Tariffs On China-Built BMWs And VWs
The European Commission’s duty calculations were based on an investigation into the effects of the Chinese government’s subsidies given to EV makers. Accordingly, it found that SAIC, the owner of MG, was one of the most prolific receivers of state financial aid, with the commission slapping them with the most prominent duties: a whopping 38.1 percent in addition to an extra 10 percent added to all imported EVs.
Evidently keen to make hay while the sun shone, SAIC recorded the greatest jump in imports. Data from JATO Dynamics reveal that 13,366 MGs were registered in June. However, according to a report from Bloomberg, 40 percent of MG4s registered in June were self-registrations by dealers.
BYD, who recorded sales of just under 4,000 units across Europe in June, will be hit by an extra 17 percent duty. Sales were likely bolstered by its campaign surrounding the UEFA European Football Championship in Germany, despite the recent downturn in EV sales across the nation following the sudden end to incentives.
Whereas Germany has put the brakes on EV incentive schemes, the Italian government has decided to embrace them. The new program is to thank for the doubling of battery electric sales compared to a year earlier.
However, the next few months will be most telling of how severely impacted China’s car makers will be by the EU levies, and whether the growth witnessed so far can be sustained.
