A senior official says Europe is “a long way away” from imposing new duties on Chinese electric vehicles

The European Union is “a long way off” from imposing new tariffs on Chinese electric cars, a senior official told CNBC, just days after the bloc launched an investigation into subsidies provided by Beijing.

“We are a long way from imposing import duties on Chinese cars, because I mean for these investigations to be fair, they have to be done properly,” Maros Šefčovič, vice-president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, told CNBC on Tuesday. .

The corporation surprised many last week by announcing an anti-subsidy investigation focusing on the electric vehicle market in the world’s second-largest economy. The European Commission believes cheap Chinese electric cars are flooding the European market with prices remaining low due to heavy government subsidies.

A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman said following the announcement: “China expresses its deep concern and dissatisfaction over this,” according to translated remarks.

The same spokesman added: “China will pay close attention to the EU’s protectionist trends and follow-up measures, and will vigorously protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

A committee He said An anti-subsidy investigation can last up to 13 months from its start. It also stipulates that interim measures must be imposed no later than nine months, followed by four months to impose final measures, if legally justified.

Šefčović also said: “But in the meantime, it is clear that we have to redouble our efforts to make sure that our automotive industry remains very competitive. We have always been very proud that the best, safest and cleanest cars are manufactured in Europe.” .

The share of Chinese-made electric cars sold in Europe rose to 8% this year. European officials say this percentage could reach 15% by 2025.

In addition, European officials have noted that the prices of electric cars made in China are about 20% lower than those made in the European Union.

There is an increasing focus from the European Union on the state of the electric vehicle market before A Deadline to ban the sale of new diesel vehicles by 2035.

“We work a lot with the battery sectors, with car manufacturers, and I now organize different groups of industry roundtables [where] “I want to discuss more closely with the European auto industry what they need, and where we can help, so that we can introduce more electric car models and be strong, not only in Europe, but in global markets as well,” Šefčović said.

The European Union already imposes a 10% duty on all imported cars. However, the US has a higher fee of 27.5%.