面对欧洲汽车制造商在应对中国廉价电动车激增的挑战时所遭遇的困难，欧盟于10月4日通过了对来自中国的电动汽车征收最高达45%关税的决议，这一举动是针对中国对汽车行业实施补贴调查的结果。这些关税将对宝马、戴姆勒和大众等公司造成冲击，同时也不可避免地影响到那些在中国设厂然后向欧洲出口汽车的西方制造商。
此举旨在保护欧盟本土汽车产业并防止它们在国内市场被挤压，但同时也可能受到来自北京的影响，并给在华运营的欧洲企业带来损失。早在今年6月，欧盟委员会便宣布将关税提高至当前10%水平之上，并针对个别中国汽车品牌设置临时税率。最终决定于10月4日获得了成员国的一致同意，并计划于11月份开始实施。然而，一些主要汽车生产大国如德国对该措施表示了忧虑。
欧洲与中国的贸易往来规模庞大：去年的双边贸易总额达到7390亿欧元（约8150亿美元），而且欧盟还对包括中国医疗设备采购和中资企业在欧洲能源项目上的竞标等其他领域展开了调查。为避免重蹈十年前欧洲太阳能产业覆辙，即本土制造商因无法应对国家支持的中国竞争对手的竞争而失去市场份额的情况重现。
对于在电动汽车（EV）领域的全球产量领先，并且几乎掌握了全球大部分电动车电池生产的中国来说，它正将其汽车制造业向海外扩张以避开国内价格竞争和经济放缓的趋势。针对柏林、巴黎等欧洲城市市场的销售，这些公司需要巨大的初期投资，但最终可能带来良好的回报。随着欧盟计划逐步淘汰内燃机车，该市场潜力巨大。
欧洲的分析家预测，西方制造商在EV兴起的情况下将失去约五分之一的市场份额，并指出中国车企正在通过降价和新策略在全球范围内增加竞争力。一些汽车制造商调整了战略或与当地企业合作以抵御价格战，如大众与小鹏的合作，以保护销售或获取技术优势。
为了应对低价竞争压力，欧洲汽车厂商正急切地推出更多实惠的电动汽车，并调整它们的电动化策略。今年3月，欧盟委员会发现，中国进口的新EV获得了补贴、税收优惠以及低于市场价提供的商品和服务等各类补助。
中国市场过去几年对于全球顶级汽车制造商来说是一个创收的巨大来源，而电动车崛起正在改变这一局面。比亚迪击败了Volkswagen成为中国的销量之王。有些公司调整策略减少在中国的曝光，如Jeep工厂关闭；另一些则重新设计产品并与中国本土企业建立合作伙伴关系以保持竞争力或获取关键技术。
欧洲汽车制造商对中国采取的行动表示关注，并质疑布鲁塞尔如何应对这一局面。Stellantis首席执行官唐唯实（Carlos Tavares）曾建议欧盟应该支持本国制造商，同时也警告关税措施可能引发通货膨胀的“大陷阱”。依赖中国市场的制造商如Volkswagen、Porsche、BMW和Mercedes面临更大的损失风险。
6月，梅赛德斯-奔驰CEO康林松再次呼吁欧洲避免采取保护主义措施，这是他自从欧盟启动调查以来一贯的观点。加征对中国EV的关税将阻碍向清洁经济转型的进程，并可能导致与中国的贸易冲突加剧，“这将损害中国对欧出口”，前Volkswagen首席执行官、现在是芯片制造商Infineon Technologies AG董事会主席的Hans Dieter Pfister在同月的一场BloombergNEF会议上表示。
6月份，中国商务部迅速回应欧盟的关税措施，呼吁欧盟采取冷静行动，并通过对话和协商解决经济与贸易摩擦。中国政府准备对来自欧盟的大排量汽车征收最高25%的报复性关税——这些举措将主要影响Mercedes-Benz、Porsche和BMW等企业。此外，中国也暗示了可能对欧洲航空业、农业及乳制品行业和葡萄酒采取相应的反制措施，并已经对欧洲出口到中国的威士忌进行了调查。
中国还可以通过限制关键商品出口来报复，例如用于电动汽车生产的稀有金属或锂等原材料。欧盟进口的锂仅占其消费量的一小部分，并严重依赖中国进行加工。中国过去还利用限制旅游业作为经济惩罚手段。
谈判是解决这一问题的可能性之一，双方都正在探讨是否能找到替代方案。一个探索中的方法是建立价格和出口量控制机制来取代关税制度，以符合世界贸易组织规则并解决补贴根源问题。
通过以上分析可以看到，欧洲与中国的电动汽车行业竞争将对全球市场产生深远影响，并且欧盟与中国政府正努力寻求和平解决方案，以避免进一步的经济摩擦。
新闻来源：www.bloomberg.com
原文地址：Europe Readies Tariffs on Flood of Cheap Chinese EVs
新闻日期：2024-10-04
原文摘要：
Help is on the way for European carmakers struggling to deal with an influx of cheap Chinese electric vehicles. The European Union voted on Oct. 4 to impose tariffs as high as 45% on EVs imported from China after an investigation into that Beijing doles out to its car industry. The duties are expected to hurt companies including , and , but also risk affecting Western manufacturers that ship cars made at their Chinese factories to Europe — for example . While the levies Europe’s domestic brands to defend their home turf, they’re likely to from Beijing, harming their business in China. The European Commission carmakers in June that it would raise duties from the current level of 10%, and also set provisional levies for individual Chinese car brands. The final duties were signed off by member states on Oct. 4, despite misgivings among some major automaking nations including Germany. They were due to go into effect by November. Brussels says it is responding more assertively to what it sees as unfair trade and market-distorting practices, which have seen Beijing subsidize exports and aggressively favor domestic firms in key sectors. EU countries did €739 billion ($815 billion) in trade with China last year, and the bloc has opened other investigations in areas ranging from China’s procurement of medical devices to bids by Chinese firms for energy projects in the EU. The bloc is keen to prevent a replay of what happened to Europe’s solar industry a decade ago, when local manufacturers failed to keep up with state-backed Chinese rivals and were priced out of their own market. EU nations would struggle to match the scale of subsidies and tax breaks for EVs and other green technologies handed out by China. Europe isn’t alone in imposing tariffs on imports of goods produced using those incentives while local manufacturers try to adapt. The US in May unveiled on a range of Chinese imports, including EVs. China produces more electric cars than anywhere else and makes most of the world’s EV batteries — the most expensive part of an electric car and the biggest determinant of its performance. Its automakers are now expanding overseas to sidestep a price war and a slowing economy at home. Selling to customers in Berlin or Paris, where they can command higher prices, will require big initial investments but may eventually produce good returns. With the EU planning to gradually phase out combustion engines, the market is potentially huge. UBS AG analysts in a September 2023 research note that Western automakers were set to lose a fifth of their market share because of the rise of more affordable Chinese EVs. But like Europe’s homegrown manufacturers, the Chinese brands have to contend with slowing sales growth for EVs in Europe, where governments in several countries havae pulled subsidies and inflation sapped consumer spending.For many years, China’s booming auto market was a money spinner for the world’s top carmakers. The rise of EVs is changing the dynamic, with BYD having dethroned VW as the top-selling auto brand in China. Some carmakers are shrinking their exposure, with shuttering its only Jeep factory in the country. Others are overhauling their products and striking partnerships with local players — VW, for example, is introducing in China and has with Xpeng — to defend sales or get access to technology. Closer to home, manufacturers are racing to offer more affordable EVs to defend against the cheap Chinese competition, while also tweaking their electrifcation strategies to account for : The European Commission in March said it had found “” that the imports of new EVs from China received subsidies including direct transfer of funds, tax breaks, or public provision of good or services below market prices.In China, yes, but . Renault has for several years marketed the Dacia Spring as Europe’s most affordable electric car, with a base price of €16,900. However, this is a poor indicator of European manufacturing competitiveness as the car is built in China’s Hubei province. It’s still far cheaper to make a car in China than it is in Europe, given the country’s low cost of land, energy and labor, and the vast economies of scale derived from being a first mover in mass-production of EVs. That’s reflected in the contrast in EV sticker prices between China and Europe. In Germany, SAIC’s MG4 costs €34,990. In China, it’s (€14,184).Europe’s carmakers on how Brussels is dealing with China. While Stellantis Chief Executive Officer has said the EU should come to the aid of homegrown manufacturers, he’s also recently tariffs a “big trap” that will drive inflation. The companies that rely heavily on sales in China — mainly Volkswagen, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes — have much more to lose if trade relations continue to deteriorate. Mercedes CEO in June said Europe should the urge to take protectionist measures, repeating a mantra he’s been championing ever since the EU opened its probe. Slapping tariffs on Chinese EVs will delay the transition to a cleaner economy, with an escalating trade conflict poised to hurt “,” former Volkswagen CEO — now chairman of chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG — said during a BloombergNEF conference in Munich that same month. China’s Ministry of Commerce responded swiftly to the EU’s tariff move in June, urging the bloc to and to handle economic and trade frictions through dialogue and consultation. Beijing has it’s ready to unleash retaliatory tariffs as high as 25% on imports of cars made in the EU with large engines — which would affect Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW the most. Beijing has also hinted at possible tit-for-tat levies on European aviation, agricultural and dairy goods and wine, and has begun an investigation into European exports of brandy. It could also restrict exports of goods that are for EV production, such as rare earths or battery metals like lithium. The EU mines only a small fraction of the lithium it consumes, and relies on China to process it. Another retaliatory tool China has used in the past is to restrict tourism to inflict economic punishment. A negotiated solution is still a possibility. Brussels and Beijing have been holding talks to explore whether an alternative can be found. One avenue they are exploring is a potential mechanism to control prices and volumes of exports in place of the duties. The EU has said any arrangement needs to comply with World Trade Organization rules and address the underlying issue of subsidies.
