The head of Italian auto suppliers lobby Anfia has urged the European Union to impose 80% tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles and parts above a certain threshold to safeguard Europe’s car industry.
Anfia President Roberto Vavassori told Reuters that Chinese imports to the European Union should be tariff-free up to 8% of annual European vehicle registrations, but with an 80% tariff on imports above that limit.
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It should cover both vehicles and components, he said, as parts account for roughly 80% of a vehicle’s value.
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Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed that the share of Chinese-branded cars sold in the EU rose to top 9% in the first half of this year.
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The EU imposes additional duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles on top of its standard 10% car import tariff, with the combined tariff burden ranging from roughly 18% to 45% depending on the manufacturer. The measures, introduced in 2024, are due to remain in force for five years.
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Vavassori called into question Chinese carmakers’ long-term commitment to building supply chains in Europe.
Automakers such as BYD and Chery are moving production to Europe, but have little interest in local sourcing, he said.
Their factories in Europe “are screwdriver factories,” Vavassori said, predicting Chinese manufacturers will keep importing most components from China or low-cost countries close to Europe.
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gee I kinda… don’t care if BMW or Mercedes or Stellantis survive this? They don’t sell anything I can afford (or in stellantis’ case, want) and I low key hate the people who can in this increasingly K shaped economy?
Just give me the cheap chinese shitbox, I got to get to work and shit.
“are screwdriver factories"
Thats what german car companies do for years. Shipping parts to china to let them build it together, because it is cheaper.
Now China does this on european ground and all of a sudden it is a big problem.
All is nice and good until money stops flowing in your pocket right?
Your comment is not true.
German carmakers (or any non-Chinese companies in any industry) are not even allowed to run a subsidiary in China. They always need a Chinese partner with whom they create a joint venture. The Chinese partner would then hold the majority of this joint venture, and it then uses Chinese supply chains. The parts are sourced in China.
This is, for example, why Volkswagen exited its joint venture with Chinese company SAIC a couple of years ago after the German company couldn’t reliably prove that the supply chains in China were free of forced labour. The problem simply was (and still is) that Chinese supply chains are highly untransparent.
(The only exemption from China’s rule to force foreign companies into a joint venture with Chinese companies is Tesla. The U.S. carmaker has no Chinese partner.)