The European Union’s proposed import tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) will be ineffective in keeping Chinese brands at Europe’s gate, as the most innovative and cost-effective assemblers like can overcome any hurdle, industry analysts said.
“The tariffs will only affect Chinese brands’ exports to Europe in the near term,” said an analyst.
That is a relief for an industry in China that had been awaiting the EU’s nine-month anti-subsidy investigation, which culminated this week in punitive tariffs ranging from 17.4 per cent to 38.1 per cent on pure-electric cars made on the mainland.