The EU wants to help its car manufacturers and is therefore limiting competition from China. The EU has decided to halve imports of plug-in hybrid vehicles from China. In future, only 350.000 plug-in hybrid vehicles from China will be allowed to be sold on the EU market per year. “This will reduce current imports into the European Union by more than half,” said an EU official.
Chinese electric cars are often cheaper
China and the EU reached an agreement late last week to limit imports, but without making the details public. The EU fears that Chinese cars could drive European manufacturers out of the market, as they are offered at lower prices.
For this reason, the European Union imposed additional customs duties on electric vehicles manufactured in China in 2024. As a result, Chinese exporters shifted their focus to plug-in hybrid vehicles, whose sales in Europe have increased significantly.
According to European Commission estimates, the number of Chinese plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in the EU could reach around 800.000 this year.
Roof for hybrid vehicles
In the future, EU customs authorities will no longer approve imports of hybrid vehicles from China once a set annual limit is reached. In the first year, this limit will be 350.000 vehicles, and will then increase by 6 percent per year. After four years, this limit will be lifted.
The first concrete measures to restrict imports of these vehicles are expected to come into effect in early December. The agreement will be valid for four years.
The restriction also affects European vehicle manufacturers.
The new limit will apply to all plug-in hybrid vehicles made in China, regardless of who makes them. This means the measure also affects European companies that manufacture or assemble their vehicles in China.
On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers that have factories in other countries, such as Turkey, will not be affected by the restriction.
The EU prepares for a possible escalation
The European Union imports far more goods from China than it exports to China. European companies also depend on raw materials, semiconductors and renewable energy materials coming from China.
EU leaders will also discuss tense trade relations with Beijing later this week, as they prepare for a possible escalation of the trade conflict.
For this reason, the European Commission is preparing several new laws. One of them will force companies in certain sectors to not source raw materials and components from just one supplier, but from several different countries.
Another bill aims to give the EU the ability, if necessary, to completely exclude a country from the European market.
As negotiations between Brussels and Beijing continue, the EU hopes to reach further restrictions on Chinese goods. According to sources in Brussels, European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will hold a telephone conversation in January, with the next meeting scheduled for March.