EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars 'threat to market': Industry body head

By Nuran Erkul

LONDON (AA) — A recent EU decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is "a threat to the market," warned the head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the UK.

SMMT Executive Director Mike Hawes told Anadolu that the duties of up to 38.1% on Chinese EV imports came as a result of an EU investigation, with no such probe going on in Britain.

"I'm not aware of any British manufacturers asking the government to undertake that, (but) we will watch closely what happens," he said.

"The UK market has always been very open. So I have seen Korean brands, Japanese brands, European green ones get relatively large market shares here because we're perhaps ... less nationalistic," Hawes added.

Noting that Chinese car brands have a market share of 4.7% in the UK according to the most recent data, he said they had a nearly 9% share in the electric vehicle market specifically.

As for non-Chinese brands of vehicles manufactured in China, including Tesla and Polestar, Hawes said their market share was almost 29% in the UK.

- Boosting competitiveness

To foster British long-term competitiveness in the electric vehicle industry, Hawes said the country needed to expand its charging infrastructure.

While highlighting that the market has grown in the UK, he said issues related to competitiveness needed to be addressed "in terms of reducing the cost of these vehicles."

"If you charge at home, that's fine, but people want to be reassured that they will be able to charge it," he said.

Hawes also pointed out to the UK's net zero emissions target by 2050.

As one of the top emitters, road transport needs to be decarbonized, he said, adding, however, that the country "can only really look after its own contribution.

"That means delivering what it says. Otherwise you have no credibility to ask others to do more."

Under Britain's Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes regulation, 80% of all new car sales in 2030 must have zero emissions, while all car sales must have zero emissions by 2035.

- Free trade agreements

Hawes stated that the UK exports automobiles to about 150 countries and that the landscape had become more competitive due to the scope of free trade agreements, with the country currently engaged in talks with many nations.

"The first point to make is that the industry globally wants free trade. That is a notion we support," he said.

Hawes pointed to Britain's talks with Canada as a good example of the value of free trade deals. Negotiations came to a halt after Ottawa imposed a 6% tariff on imports from the UK.

"So putting a UK built car into the Canadian market, it becomes a very expensive, their expenses are premium, so they're high value," he said, adding:

"Then you add on the actual taxation, they're even more expensive. And is that what you want for the Canadian consumer?"

According to SMMT data, approximately 315,000 electric vehicles were sold in the UK last year, with a market share 16.5%.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul