- The European Union has reduced some of the steep tariffs on EVs imported from China that it announced in July.
- Tesla’s tariff rate drops from 20.8% to 9%, and BMW’s electric Mini is now taxed at 21.3% instead of 37.6%.
- VW EVs also benefit, as do electric cars made by some Chinese automakers, including SAIC and BYD.
Tesla’s activities in Europe got a profitability boost today after the European Union announced revisions to the tariffs it began imposing in July on EVs arriving on the continent from China.
The EU’s initial report called for a 20.8 percent tariff on imported China-built Teslas, but that rate has now been reduced to just 9 percent on appeal. The American automaker had asked for a recalculation following the publication of the July report, and after ascertaining that Tesla received less state aid than some other firms building cars in China, the EU agreed to reduce Tesla’s tariff.
Related: Tesla Responds To Tariffs By Hiking Model 3 Prices Across Europe
But the EU didn’t remove the duty altogether because it found that Tesla does receive batteries at below market value, one of the ways Europe says some automakers receive help from the Chinese state that gives them an unfair economic advantage against car firms building cars in other parts of the world. The EU’s report listed multiple other ways in which China-based automakers can receive help, including cheap land, grants and loans at favorable rates.
Tesla wasn’t the only automaker to benefit from the EU’s revised tariff structure. BMW’s new electric Mini was initially stung with a brutal 37.6 percent tariff, the maximum available and only applied to automakers who the EU said refused to cooperate with investigators. But following a review the Mini will now face a much smaller 21.3 percent levy.
Cupra’s Tavascan has also had its tariff reduced from 37.6 percent to 21.3 percent, though Auto News reports Seat saying it wants to achieve further reductions. And even the Chinese brands scored small – and we do mean small – wins. BYD’s tariff rate has dropped from 17.4 percent to 17 percent, Geely’s falls from 19.9 to 19.3 percent and SAIC’s rate improves from 37.6 percent to 36.6 percent.
