Tesla has joined a class action lawsuit by a group of Chinese carmakers, including BYD, SAIC and Geely, suing the European Union over the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Tesla operates the Gigafactory Shanghai plant in China, where it produces EVs for local and global markets, including European countries. The lawsuit stems from the EU imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the lowest of which is 8 per cent.
Other carmakers, including SAIC, were subject to 35% tariffs, which ultimately caused outrage and prompted the lawsuit. The European Commission claims that “as a result of a year-long anti-subsidy investigation, the regulator has gathered evidence of Beijing ’s support for China’s electric car industry to take a leading position in the world.”
The European Commission believes it has more evidence than the US and Canada, which apply a 100 per cent tariff on electric cars made in China. Tesla is demanding the tariffs be lifted.
World reaction
Reaction to this news in the auto industry world has been mixed. European manufacturers, especially from Germany, France and Italy, expressed support for the tariffs, seeing them as a defence against competitors from China. At the same time, some countries and companies within the EU oppose these measures, fearing retaliatory steps from China and aggravation of trade relations.
Experts note that this trial may become a turning point in relations between the EU and China in the context of the global electric car industry. China has already declared its readiness to take retaliatory action if the EU does not roll back its tariffs, which could lead to a new trade war.
Free trade and environmental advocates have also called for a compromise, pointing to the importance of the availability of electric vehicles to meet the goals of reducing emissions and moving towards carbon neutrality.
The outcome of this litigation could have a significant impact not only on EU-China trade relations, but also on global trends in electric transport.
