Automotive News Europe — 2024-10-06
Automotive Industry
Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said the European Union should consider adjusting its hefty tariffs against China-made electric vehicles to make allowances for investments made in Europe.
Potential retaliatory tariffs by China on German cars could affect Volkswagen vehicles manufactured in China as well as German exports, including brands such as Audi, Porsche or Lamborghini, Blume said.
"Possible punitive tariffs would be particularly risky for the German automotive industry," Blume told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "We would face significant disadvantages in the Chinese market. And that is why we are clearly opposed to such new rules."
Blume said companies that invest and create jobs in Europe should receive benefits, possibly exempting them from tariffs as high as 45 percent on Chinese EVs that the EU for on 4 October.
Ten member states voted in favor of the higher tariffs, while Germany and four others voted against and 12 countries abstained, reports said.
VW, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all opposed the tariffs. The three automakers make about a third of their sales in China.
The new tariff rates will be as high as 45 percent for EV manufacturers exporting from China, taking into account the existing 10 percent rate.
The proposed duties on full-electric cars built in China would cost automakers billions of extra dollars to bring cars into the bloc and are set to be imposed from next month for five years.
The European Commission, which oversees the bloc's trade policy, has said the tariffs will counter unfair Chinese subsidies for automakers now targeting Europe. The commission has said it will continue talks with Beijing.
The tariff vote is another blow to the German car industry, which has been reeling from profit warnings and growing concerns over balance sheets amid slowing demand and stiff competition. VW, which recently cut its guidance for a second time this year, is considering shutting factories in Germany for the first time to cut costs.