The European Commission did not explicitly confirm this. However, on Monday it published “guidelines” on how manufacturers can avoid the current special tariffs on electric cars produced in China. They must commit not to sell the cars below a certain minimum price in Europe. The special tariffs are currently between 7.8 percent and 35.3 percent and are levied in addition to the regular import tariff of ten percent. The Commission’s “guidelines” specifically stipulate that manufacturers must submit an application to the EU, i.e. clarify their minimum prices directly with Brussels. In addition, in the case of a corresponding offer, commitments to invest in the EU or a limit on exports should be taken into account positively. Consumers cannot hope for lower prices. According to the European Commission, an unnamed company – it is probably the VW Cupra produced in China – submitted a concrete offer for minimum prices at the beginning of December. This “first offer that should be taken seriously” is currently being examined. The agreement that has now apparently been found will likely change little in terms of the amount of the surcharges. Consumers cannot therefore hope for lower prices. The key difference to the current punitive tariffs is that Chinese car manufacturers could keep the difference between the original price and the agreed minimum price themselves – instead of paying tariffs to the EU. The agreement is intended to be in line with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The rule that manufacturers are allowed to keep the surcharges on the minimum price in the future also benefits German car companies. Because Mercedes produces the current model range of the Smart brand in a joint venture with Geely in China, it has so far had to pay tariffs to the EU coffers for every Smart imported into Europe, as have purely Chinese manufacturers. The electric versions of the Mini Cooper and the electric Mini Aceman also come from China. Also in the Volkswagen Group is the Cupra Tavascan, which is only offered electrically and is technically related to the electric VW models. In case of doubt, China is a more popular production location. Especially for the Volkswagen Group, it is increasingly true that the model range for China and Germany is not easily comparable because more and more locally designed products from Chinese production are being offered in China. Since the Chinese car market is as large as that of Europe and the USA combined, producing an independent model range there is definitely profitable. At the same time, this large market provides incentives to build niche models primarily for the Chinese market and then export them to Europe in small numbers. This is the case in the Volkswagen Group with the Tavascan mid-range electric model from Seat’s sister brand Cupra. Until 2025, BMW had exported the electric version of the X3 SUV from China to Europe. The original production site for the X3 with combustion engine drive sold in Europe is in the USA, where there is little demand for electric models. It therefore made sense for BMW for a long time to use the supply infrastructure in China for an electric version and then bring the electric X3 from a Chinese BMW factory to Germany. Now BMW expects larger sales figures for the electric X3 in Europe and has built a new factory in Hungary for this purpose. In general, German manufacturers are repeatedly faced with the question of whether it is worthwhile to produce electric cars in Europe or whether they should use economies of scale and low prices from suppliers of batteries in China, for example, to at least produce niche models in Asia. In contrast to French car companies, for example, German manufacturers in China have a large network of car factories and some also have their own production of supplier parts. A swipe at Trump Because of the different production costs in Europe and China, the EU introduced tariffs on electric cars produced in China in autumn 2024. She accuses the Chinese side of excessively supporting its auto industry with subsidies and thus distorting competition. The primary aim was to protect European manufacturers from competition from China. However, German car manufacturers in particular never approved of these tariffs. This is not least due to the fact that they are more dependent on the Chinese market than their French competitors. The federal government also voted “no” in the vote, but was unable to prevail. More on the subject The Chinese Ministry of Commerce praised the mutual respect of the negotiations with Brussels and also used the agreement to take a swipe at US President Donald Trump. There is a “spirit of dialogue” and one can “resolve differences within the framework of WTO rules”. This serves “the healthy development of economic and trade relations between China and the EU” but “also the maintenance of a rules-based international trading order.” The Commission downplayed the importance of publishing the guidelines. Ultimately nothing has changed, said a spokesman. The Commission has always stressed that it would be prepared to remove tariffs if manufacturers producing in China put forward proposals on how they could offset the unfair advantages achieved by Chinese subsidies.
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