Chinese electric car manufacturer Spen Company executives say the company remains committed to Europe in the long term, despite pressure from European Union tariffs.
“Our plans for Europe are very long-term,” Brian Gu, vice chairman and co-president of Xpeng, told CNBC’s Charlotte Reid at the Paris Motor Show on Monday.
Mr. Gu reflected on the EU’s decision to impose high tariffs on Chinese EV imports, saying this was putting “huge pressure” on his country’s business model.
But he added that the company has a “long-term focus” on the continent and aims to “find every possible way to increase our competitiveness.”
Gu said Xpeng is currently considering multiple aspects of its business strategy, including product range, business model and pricing, as it assesses the impact of EU tariffs.
He did not confirm whether Xiaopeng plans to pass on the cost of customs duties to customers.
“There are a number of areas that we are considering and investigating. [and] “We’re trying to optimize it,” he said.
In the long term, Gu said Xpeng plans to become “more local” in Europe and strengthen its manufacturing capabilities in the region.
“Having local manufacturing capabilities is something companies with long-term plans and long-term visions have to do. It’s not because of tariffs, it’s not because of short-term policy changes,” Gu told CNBC. .
Earlier this month, the EU voted to introduce final tariffs on imports of Chinese-made battery electric vehicles. The development is a major blow to China’s EV industry, which has made significant inroads into Europe in recent years.
The EU first announced in June that it would impose additional duties on electric vehicle imports from China. At the time, the EU said Chinese companies were “significantly benefiting from unfair subsidies” and posed a “threat of economic harm” to European EV producers.
The duties of individual companies were also revealed depending on their degree of cooperation with the investigation. Temporary work began in early July, but Revised in September Based on “substantiated comments on interim measures” from stakeholders.
teslahad expressed concerns about the proposed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, which have now been reduced from a maximum of 20.8% to 7.8%.
Increased industry costs
Gu’s comments are more muted than some of his peers in China’s EV industry. On Monday, Stella Li, executive vice president of Warren Buffett-backed EV company BYD, said the EU’s planned tariffs on Chinese-made EVs were based on miscalculations. She added that the decision was unfair.
“Politicians should stay away from tariffs that increase the cost of making cars and disrupt the auto industry,” he said in comments reported by Reuters from the Paris Motor Show.
Last month, William Li, CEO and founder of Chinese EV maker Nio, also criticized EU tariffs. stated at the company’s financial results conference. It argued that this obligation was “unjust” and contrary to “the sustainable development of all humanity.”
The United States has also expressed concern about the impact on China’s EV market. In May, the Biden administration introduced a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports to the United States.
One of the biggest concerns the Biden administration has expressed about China’s EV industry is that companies are helping to overproduce cheap, clean-energy vehicles that exceed domestic demand, effectively distorting the market.
In response to the EU tariffs, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU previously expressed “deep disappointment” at the EU’s “adoption of protectionist trade measures”.
