The European Commission is considering imposing duties on Chinese hybrid vehicles, people familiar with the matter have told Euractiv.
The move – which is still being debated by the EU executive – would extend the bloc’s current levies on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) to cars with both an internal combustion engine and a battery-powered electric motor, according to an official in EU industry chief Stéphane Séjourné’s office.
The EV tariffs, which the Commission argues are necessary to combat unfair Chinese subsidies and range up to 35.3%, have enraged Beijing and exacerbated already frayed ties between the EU and the world’s second-largest economy.
Imposed in October 2024, the EV duties are strongly supported by France but opposed by Germany, whose own automakers are heavily dependent on the Chinese market – even as they struggle to keep pace with increasingly fierce competition from Chinese EV makers.
The official told Euractiv that Séjourné, a French politician who serves as one of Brussels’ six executive vice-presidents, has “raised the question of Chinese hybrid vehicles at numerous occasions”.
“His cabinet is raising the issue of why what is valid for EVs, is not for hybrid vehicles, that are produced in the same conditions and whose European competitors need the same protection and level-playing field.”
The move comes amid a surge of Chinese hybrid vehicle exports to the EU, with sales up 155% over the past year. Chinese EV exports, meanwhile, have increased by just 12%.
It also comes after the Commission on Monday provided official guidance to Chinese EV producers on how to make “price undertaking” offers, which could potentially allow exporters to avoid the bloc’s duties by selling EVs at or above a minimum price.
While hailed by Beijing’s commerce ministry and Chinese EV makers, Brussels has warned that the issuance of guidance does not entail that its levies on EVs will ultimately be removed.
Monday’s news appeared to mark a thaw in relations between Brussels and Beijing, which have long been strained as a result of China’s massive trade surplus, export controls on strategically critical minerals, and deepening ties to Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A spokesperson for Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič did not respond to a request for comment. Olof Gill, Commission spokesperson for trade, declined to comment.
For deeper context on how Brussels and Beijing shape each other’s decisions, sign up to Red Thread, our weekly EU-China briefing.
Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed reporting.
This story has been updated with more context.
(jp)