The 2022 Paris Motor Show has become a true showcase for Chinese brands, which have presented their great novelties. Electric cars that will arrive in Europe in the coming years, a scenario that Carlos Tavares considers dangerous. The Portuguese at the head of Stellantis asks Europe for more taxes for Chinese manufacturers.
We knew it, and that’s how we’ve been telling you for a few months. After four years of forced hiatus, the Paris Motor Show 2022 It was coming back with a bang, especially from Asia, since most of the big European manufacturers decided not to go. The French fair has become the perfect Chinese brand showcasewhich have already confirmed their introduction in Europe with electric cars.
A wave that will arrive in the coming years but that is a reality, since the Asians of BYD, CHILD, Xpeng, ways either Great Wall, among many others, are already launching their zero emission models in the main European countries. A situation to which Charles Tavares has reacted at the Paris Motor Show. The top leader of Stellantis asks the European Union for a equal footing for Chinese brands that wish to sell their products in the Old Continent, requesting higher tariffs for asians.
China’s response, an important consequence for Europe
Tavares, without mincing words, has stated in a statement which is ‘Very simply, we should ask the European Union to impose the same conditions in Europe for Chinese manufacturers under which we Western manufacturers compete in China.” A demand that has already been made to the French Prime Minister, but that needs a broader front to exert pressure on the European Union.
Chinese brands represent 5 percent of the European electric car market, but they not only arrive with lower taxes to pay, but also with a significant cost reduction under their arms, also putting Polestar in the same bag. The reality is that European manufacturers selling in China have to pay tariffs of between 15 and 25 percent in imports from Europe to Chinawhile Asians only pay 10 percent. A complicated situation that puts at a disadvantage the great investment of European brands in zero-emission cars.
The equality of conditions that Tavares asks for also has another point of view that is much more complicated to solve: China’s response. An increase in import tariffs would not be well received by the Asian giant, and could even be taken as a provocation. The Portuguese, an expert analyst of the world market, has added a very outstanding detail, and that is that “The European market is completely open to the Chinese and we do not know if their strategy is gain market share at a loss and increase your price later», which should not be ruled out.