MOSCOW: Tariffs on electric cars imported from China should be lowered even as the European Commission considers lifting import duties on them amid an anti-subsidy inquiry, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius said on Tuesday, reported Sputnik.
In September 2023, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced an anti-subsidy probe into the imports of electric cars from China as global markets were "flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars" with their price "kept artificially low by huge state subsidies," which is a problem for EU manufacturers.
"Don't raise tariffs. I'm a contrarian, I think go the other way around: take the tariffs that we have and reduce them," Kallenius told the Financial Times newspaper.
Chinese companies exporting their cars to Europe is a "natural progression of competition and it needs to be met with better product, better technology, more agility," Kallenius said. It is the "market economy" and "we did not ask for this [probe]," he added.
Opinions on the subject divide, as for some like French carmakers Stellantis and Renault, who do not own major businesses in China, imported cars are a problem, and raising tariffs is the solution, the newspaper reported. Whereas, for others, such as German carmakers whose business is dependent on the Chinese market, restricting trade with the country could be a problem. One in three Mercedes-Benz cars are bought in the Chinese market, which also accounted for 40 per cent of Volkswagen car sales, the report said.
Chinese electric vehicles imported to Europe reportedly face a 10 per cent tariff and European car manufacturers are subject to a 15 per cent tariff in China. –BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
