According to a Bloomberg report, data from automotive research firm Dataforce reveals that in November of this year, the sales share of Chinese electric vehicle brands, including BYD and MG (owned by SAIC Group), in the European electric vehicle market dropped to 7.4% of total EV registrations, down from 8.2% in October. This marks the lowest level since March of this year, as new tariffs imposed by the European Union have increased the cost of Chinese-made cars exported to Europe by 35%.
Data released by China Customs on December 23 shows that in November, China's electric vehicle exports globally fell by 19% year-on-year, with exports to the EU specifically dropping by 23%.
Dataforce analyst Julian Litzinger pointed out that in November, electric vehicle registrations by Chinese manufacturers in Germany and France were more than 50% lower than the same period last year. In contrast, Chinese EV sales in the UK increased by 17% year-on-year, as the UK is not an EU member and has not imposed import tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Chinese automakers, benefiting from lower battery costs, have had an advantage in EV pricing. However, both the US and EU governments are making efforts to protect domestic manufacturers. On October 29, the European Commission announced the end of its anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs and decided to impose a five-year final tariff on fully electric cars imported from China. This final tariff came into effect on October 30. It is important to note that the new EU tariffs are an additional charge on top of the existing 10% import tariff.
While the EU has imposed import tariffs on all EVs produced in China, including those from Western brands like BMW and Tesla, the tariff rate depends on the level of subsidies received by the automaker from the Chinese government and whether the company cooperates with EU sampling investigations.
SAIC Group has been hit hardest by the EU's 45.3% import tariff. MG, one of the most popular Chinese EV brands in Europe, has seen a sharp drop in sales. Data from research firm Jato Dynamics shows that in November, MG's registrations in Europe fell by 58% year-on-year.
However, while MG's sales in Europe have declined, BYD has seen a significant surge. In November, BYD's EV registrations in Europe more than doubled year-on-year, reaching 4,796 units.
Julian Litzinger commented, "BYD is capturing the European EV market, while SAIC MG is facing a major setback." He added that nearly 80% of BYD's registered customers are private individuals and fleet buyers.
Currently, the pace of the global transition to electric vehicles has slowed down, causing some automakers worldwide to reevaluate their EV strategies, including their vehicle lineups, factory locations, and even corporate structures.
