China EV registrations drop 45% in July after EU tariff launch

Registrations for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) like BYD and SAIC’s MG brand dropped by 45% compared to June. The decline in Chinese EV registrations has been linked to the European Commission’s provisional tariffs on China-made EV imports.

On July 5, the EU Commission imposed provisional tariffs of up to nearly 38% on EV imports made in China, including those from foreign brands like Tesla and Volkswagen. The provisional rates are added to Europe’s 10% import duties.

Dataforce gathered data from 16 member states in the European Union (EU), revealing that the number of Chinese EV registrations dropped in July. SAIC’s MG brand saw a 20% sales drop last month compared to a year ago, and Polestar’s sales declined by 42% year over year. 

BYD fared better than the rest.  China’s biggest automaker increased its market share in the EU EV market to 8.5% in July, up from 7.4% earlier this year. BYD aims to beat Tesla and big EU automakers, like Volkswagen and Stellantis, in the European EV market. BYD received the lowest individual tariff rate of 17.4% compared to other Chinese automakers like Geely, which received a rate of 19.9%, and SAIC’s 37.6%. 

According to independent auto analyst Matthias Schmidt, the sharp decline in Chinese EV registrations in July may be due to automakers trying to empty stockpiles in June before the Commission’s provisional tariffs took effect. 

Earlier this month, China filed an appeal with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the EU’s tariffs on EV imports made in China. China’s Commerce Ministry argued that the WTO filing was an attempt to “safeguard the development rights and interests of the electric vehicle industry and cooperation over the global green transformation.” 

The European Commission’s provisional tariffs are expected to get full support from all 27 member states in the EU this November. The EU’s China-made EV import tariffs are significantly lower than those imposed by US President Biden in the United States. 

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