Sleuths from the European Commission are about to kick off their investigation into Chinese automakers with trips to some of the country’s biggest brands. Investigators will depart for China in the coming weeks, a new report claims, to establish whether Chinese automakers have an unfair competitive advantage over their European counterparts.
BYD, Geely, and SAIC are all in the spotlight, but sources claim that investigators won’t be paying visits to the sites operated by non-Chinese brands in China. Tesla, Renault, and BMW all have facilities in the country, but will apparently escape scrutiny, at least for now.
The investigation was instigated by the European Commission itself and hopes to find out if Chinese-made EVs get state subsidies that give them an unfair economic advantage when it comes to setting retail prices in Europe over European brands that don’t receive state subsidies. The probe was launched last October and is expected to last just over a year. Chinese automakers have already answered questionnaires from the EC, and this visit to the country is believed to be for the purpose of checking the answers provided.
Related: China’s EV Giant BYD Now Exports Cars In Its Own Purpose-Built Mega-Ship
Beijing has reacted angrily to the EU’s investigation, and while some European automakers support the probe, others, including BMW – which builds several models in China – are less keen. Reuters reports that sales of Chinese-made cars now account for 8 percent of all vehicles sold in the EU, a number that could climb to 15 percent in 2025. We recently covered the news that China is believed to have overtaken Japan as the world’s biggest exporter of cars.
Last year Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares warned of the threat Chinese cars posed to Europe’s automakers, and with good reason – some of the country’s EVs, like the MG4, can cost 20 percent less than equivalent models made in Europe. But in a keep-your-enemies-close deal, Stellantis last year also announced it was buying a $1.6 bn stake in Leapmotor, giving the Western firm better access to China, and Leapmotor a way into the European market.
Source: Reuters