According to foreign media reports, Volkswagen Group said that if the EU imposes higher import tariffs on electric vehicles produced in China, it will only provide car companies with a short respite.
In the long run, reducing costs is the only way to maintain competitiveness.
A necessary condition for strength.
Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer, said this is because Chinese automakers will start producing cars in Europe.
On May 22, as trade tensions between the United States and the European Union escalated with China, China said it was preparing to impose tariffs of up to 25% on imported cars equipped with large engines.
Antlitz wrote in an article on LinkedIn: “We must become more cost-competitive over the next two to three years.
It is highly questionable whether the current tariffs will go in the right direction.
“, Photo source: Volkswagen,Antlitz said: “The next few years are important opportunities to improve our cost competitiveness.
This will improve the price/performance ratio of our electric vehicles while ensuring that we have enough profit margins to fund future transformation.
“, Currently, car companies once again find themselves at the forefront of changes in the global trade landscape, with automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz particularly vulnerable to China’s countermeasures.
All three companies regard China as their largest market, and all luxury S-Class and Maybach models sold by Mercedes-Benz in China are imported cars.
The EU will inform Chinese exporters of the results of the electric vehicle subsidy investigation in early June this year, and may impose higher tariffs on top of the current 10% tax and take effect a month later.
The European lobby group Transport & Environment said in March this year that electric vehicles produced by Chinese car companies such as MG and BYD accounted for less than 9% of pure electric vehicle sales in Europe last year, and by 2027, this proportion is expected to increase to about 20%.
BYD is currently planning to build two factories in Europe, where it will release a Seagull hatchback next year that will sell for less than 20,000 euros (US$21,657), a move that will have a huge impact on electric vehicle products from Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault.
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