EU's Restrictions on Chinese EVs Impact and Outlook

TapTechNews June 15, the National Development and Reform Commission today released a commentary titled EU's Restrictions on Chinese Electric Vehicles Will Intensify Its Fossil Fuel Dependence, Don't Seek Short-Term Gain and Hinder Green and Low-Carbon Transformation. It put forward the view that restricting Chinese electric vehicles will intensify fossil fuel dependence and is not conducive to the EU's energy independence and economic security.

The commentary mentioned that relevant research in Germany shows that the cumulative carbon emissions of electric vehicles during the whole life cycle are 36% lower than those of diesel vehicles of the same class. In 2023, about 300,000 of the electric vehicles sold in the EU were produced in China, accounting for 19.5%; estimated by the fact that each electric vehicle can reduce carbon by about 1.66 tons per year, it is equivalent that Chinese electric vehicles help the EU reduce carbon by 498,000 tons per year.

The NDRC pointed out that the EU has long been highly dependent on energy imports, and the external dependence on natural gas and oil is both higher than 90%. Some economists in the EU also said that the high energy prices have put European enterprises at a disadvantage in the global market.

A relevant data platform in Germany shows that in 2022, European electric vehicles replaced about 6.1 billion liters of gasoline, which is conducive to slowing down the dependence on fossil fuels. However, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the EU has stalled since 2023 and will decline to less than 20% in 2024, and the important reason is the lack of products that satisfy consumers.

TapTechNews learned that the NDRC pointed out in a series of comments released on the 13th and 14th that the key to the rapid development of the Chinese automotive industry lies in opening up to the outside world and fair competition, not subsidies; the EU's move seems to protect the local automotive industry in the short term, but in fact it will seriously affect the long-term healthy development of the EU's local automotive industry, and even damage the overseas business environment of EU enterprises, and be retaliated by trade protectionism.