According to a recent policy study, China will account for more than a quarter of European EV sales this year, up 5% from last year.
According to a Wednesday document from the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), 19.5% of battery-powered EVs sold in the EU last year were from China, with close to a third of sales in France and Spain.
The T&E study predicts that as Chinese companies like BYD expand globally, the percentage of made-in-China automobiles in the area will climb to 25% in 2024.
Most EU EVs are sold by Western companies like Tesla, which produces and ships from China, although Chinese brands will account for 11% of the market in 2024. T&E forecasts 20% by 2027.
The European Commission is investigating Chinese electric car subsidies to see whether they unjustly undercut domestic competitors. Tesla and BMW, which export from China, may be involved in the subsidy inquiry.
According to Tu Le, creator of Sino Auto Insights, early 2010s incentives in China raised startups and battery cell production, enabling inexpensive EVs.
“The E.U. and the U.S. are so far behind because they don’t have quality EVs at affordable prices because the legacy automakers have only really recently focused on designing and engineering them,” he continued.
T&E indicated it would require boosting EV tariffs to at least 25%, from the present 10%, for “medium” electric automobiles such as sedans and SUVs from China to become more costly than their E.U. counterparts, but compact SUVs and “larger cars” would stay marginally cheaper.
However, the policy group said this would also require Europe to become more self-sufficient in battery cell manufacture for the local EV sector.
“The conundrum they see themselves in is that they can’t build affordable (and profitable) EVs without Chinese batteries because the Chinese are so far ahead of both the E.U. and U.S. on the mineral mining, refining, and manufacturing sides,” said Sino Auto Insights’ Le.
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In reaction to legislative concerns involved with transporting made-in-China EVs to Europe, China-based firms like Tesla and BYD have scaled up production activities across the continent. Tesla is trying to expand its assembly facility in Germany, while BYD aims to establish manufacturing in Hungary.
“The aim [of tariffs] should be to localize EV supply chains in Europe while accelerating the EV push in order to bring the full economic and climate benefits of the transition,” T&E wrote in its research.
SOURCE:NBC NEWS
