Alarm bells sound in Brussels as EU sales of Chinese hybrid cars rocket

Sales of Chinese hybrid cars have rocketed in the EU in the past four and a half years, data shows, underlining growing concerns in Brussels over the future of the European car industry.

In 2022, just 659 Chinese-made fully hybrid cars (vehicles in which the petrol or diesel engine charge the motor and battery) were sold in the EU. However, after Brussels imposed anti-subsidy tariffs on fully electric cars from China in 2024, sales of hybrids have shot up to 160,662 in the first seven months of this year.

Eurostat figures show that sales of Chinese-made plug-in hybrid vehicles – models popular for longer driving distances that can recharge via both the fuel engine and an external power source – have also soared, rising from 56,706 sold in 2022 to 217,764 from January to July this year.

The volume of Chinese hybrids on the roads is now spooking the car industry and Brussels, which has asked China to voluntarily reduce its hybrid exports to the EU or face safeguards, likely to be quotas.

On Thursday the German car industry for the first time indicated it would be willing to consider tariffs on Chinese hybrids specifically.

The German Association of the Automotive Industry, VDA, called on the European Commission to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the impact of any trade safeguards, which can range from quotas to price floors and tariffs.

It said: “The EU must also have an effective and up-to-date set of trade defence instruments at its disposal. Where unfair conduct is proven, the use of WTO-compliant trade defence instruments must be considered; these are legitimate and tried-and-tested means of achieving a level playing field and safeguarding fair conditions of competition.”

According to new figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), hybrid cars now account for almost 37% of the overall market, with electric cars making up just over 21% of the market.

The ACEA figures show three Chinese manufacturers – BYD, Chery and Leapmotor – making significant inroads with triple-digit growth in the EU.

A fourth firm, Geely, has had a steady 8% increase in the first eight months of the year and remains the most popular Chinese brand in the EU, with 205,000 cars sold in the first eight months of the year. Its brands include Sweden’s Volvo and Polestar, the EU’s only all-electric car manufacturer.

BYD is catching up with Geely, with sales rocketing by 163% year on year with 177,000 units sold.

Both firms, along with a fifth Chinese manufacturer, SAIC, are now firmly ahead of Elon Musk’s Tesla, which sold 142,000 cars across the bloc in the first seven months of the year.

European car manufacturers still dominate, with the Volkswagen group selling 2m cars in the first eight months of the year.

Sales of electric cars are also growing fast in parts of Europe including Germany, up 75% to 69,000 units in August, and in France, where sales are up by 112%. In Slovenia, sales have increased by 266%. This compares with the UK, up 27% in August to 28,000 EVs sold, and Ireland, up just 7% to 2,200 units.

Earlier this month, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, described the now €1.18bn-a-day trade deficit between the bloc and China as having reached an unsustainable “tipping point”.

The EU’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao will meet on 8 and 9 October to try to build a truce.

Also hoping for a trade truce are Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, who meet in their third summit in 12 months in Washington on Thursday.

Trump agreed in South Korea last October to drop tariffs on certain Chinese imports in exchange for a suspension of China’s export restriction on rare earths, critical to the car industry across the US, EU and the UK.

Some believe a deal may not have been reached yet and the suspension may not be announced until the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference next month.

本文の著作権はThe Guardianにあります。