On the evening of July 4, the European Commission announced that, starting from July 5, it would impose temporary anti-subsidy duties on pure electric vehicles imported from China, ranging from 17.4% to 37.6%.
Among the three Chinese automakers sampled in the investigation, SAIC Motor, Geely Auto, and BYD were imposed with tariffs of 37.6%, 19.9%, and 17.4%, respectively. Other automakers that cooperated with the EU investigation were imposed an average tariff of 20.8%, while non-cooperating companies faced a 37.6% tariff. This temporary tariff will last for up to four months.
The day after the decision was announced, SAIC Motor issued a statement asserting that, to protect its legitimate rights and interests as well as those of its global customers, "SAIC Motor will formally request the European Commission to hold a hearing on the temporary anti-subsidy measures against Chinese electric vehicles, to further exercise its right to defense in accordance with the law."
The defense content includes: The European Commission's anti-subsidy investigation involves commercially sensitive information, such as requests to provide battery-related chemical formulas, which exceed the normal scope of investigation.
There are errors in the European Commission's determination of subsidies, such as including domestic consumer subsidies for new energy vehicle purchases in the subsidy rate calculation for sales in the EU.
The European Commission ignored some of the information and defense opinions submitted by SAIC during the investigation process and made adverse presumptions based on Article 28 of the Basic Anti-Subsidy Regulation for "non-cooperation," thereby inflating the subsidy rates of multiple items.
Data shows that SAIC Motor's MG brand sold more than 230,000 vehicles in the European market in 2023, accounting for 70% of Chinese brand sales in Europe and 20% of its total exports (over 1.2 million vehicles). The imposition of a 37.6% additional tariff by the EU on SAIC Motor has a significant impact on the company.
