EU Tariffs Bite as Chinese BEV Makers See Sales Slump in July

European Union tariffs are starting to bite into Chinese automakers’ battery-electric vehicle sales with some registering a fall in registrations for July of up to 45%.

EU tariffs are meant to slow down the growth of Chinese BEV sales while European carmakers catch up with China on costs, model choices. and investigations take place as to whether the Chinese government is subsidizing its carmakers in an attempt to grab market shares while damaging legacy automakers.

According to research by Dataforce compiled across the 16 member countries, major brands such as BYD and SAIC’s MG recorded the biggest slumps, Bloomberg reports. However, industry experts suggest part of the drop may have been due to carmakers rushing to get BEVs to dealers before the added levies took effect on July 5.

Overall, Chinese brands were not hugely out of step with the 36% sequential slide in BEV sales for the 16 countries tracked by Dataforce. BMW, Stellantis and Tesla also import Chinese-made BEVs that are subject to the higher EU tariffs.

BYD sold three times as many BEVs in the 16 markets in July than it did a year earlier. MG posted a 20% drop in July from a year earlier, while Polestar sales declined 42%.

The levies will become permanent in November, assuming a deal for lower tariffs between Brussels and Beijing is not struck.

The Dataforce figures for Germany show Chinese brands make up 8% of vehicle registrations in July, down from 13% in June. In France, the drop was to 5% from 8% while in the U.K., now outside of the EU trading bloc since Brexit, Chinese brands gained ground.