In the context of its investigation into possible unfair competition from Chinese manufacturers on European soil, the European Commission will begin customs registration of vehicle imports. This could drive up the prices of their electric cars.
BYD Seal U
It has already been a few months since Chinese electric cars have been hit hard, in France at least, by the new ecological bonus based on an environmental score. This new government scale for granting assistance for the purchase of a zero-emission electric vehicle is in fact based on several criteria, including origin. A way to promote models produced in France and Europe. Europe which in October 2023 precisely accused China of unfair competition on the Old Continent and which opened an investigation into this.
If the procedure is still ongoing, we have just reached a new stage since the European Commission announced this Wednesday, March 6, 2024, to open customs registration for Chinese imports of electric cars. A new step towards a potential price increase for Chinese vehicles in Europe!
Prepare the terrain
As a reminder, what Europe accuses China of is a sort of cheating by Chinese manufacturers regarding their prices. Bottom, you will have understood. It concerns the fact that they benefit from government subsidies in their country, allowing prices to be artificially lowered. Which obviously represents unfair competition from the point of view of European manufacturers.
MG4
In reality, this new customs registration measure for imports of Chinese electric vehicles to the Old Continent which has just been announced only prepares the ground. In the event that the anti-subsidy investigation carried out by the Commission really highlights government aid which would call into question competition.
Except that the conclusions of the investigation will not be known before November 2024. So why start customs registration this Thursday, March 7? Quite simply in order to apply penalties retroactively if the investigation proves conclusive. And therefore increase (a little more) the price of Chinese cars.
Chinese manufacturers who continue to lower prices
In a document published this Tuesday, the Commission indeed suggested that it had sufficient evidence to prove that Chinese vehicles are indeed subsidized. If this is the case, the damage suffered by European manufacturers could be enormous. And above all difficult to repair. Even though Chinese imports have increased further.
MG4 XPower // Source : Aroged
Chinese manufacturers who also continue to apply an aggressive pricing policy on the Old Continent. And particularly in France while they escape the bonus. Never mind, MG bypassed the bonus at the beginning of January with a big drop in its prices: 4,000 euros on all models in the electric range, i.e. the exact price of the famous 2024 bonus.
So for the consumer, no change. And it works, as confirmed by the still high sales of the MG4, for example, in February 2024.
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