China – USA: 100,000 Electric Vehicles to Europe and Latin America

Chinese electric cars that were thrown out the door are returning through the window. Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams), the second largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world after Tesla, and US multinational private transportation services company Uber announced “a strategic partnership to initially introduce 100,000 Chinese electric vehicles to Europe and Latin America through the Uber platform.”

The agreement follows President Joe Biden’s decision to impose prohibitive 100-percent customs duties to reduce Chinese electric car exports to the United States to a minimum, and a similar anti-dumping action by the European Union, which on July 4 imposed temporary duties of up to 37.6% on imports of Chinese electric cars, accusing manufacturers of “distorting the single market with prices kept artificially low by huge government subsidies.”

As BYD and Uber wrote in a joint press release, the agreement “will offer Uber’s extensive customer base access to ‘democratic’ pricing, insurance, financing, and many other services for BYD vehicles.”

Having experimented with mass deliveries in Europe and Latin America, the two automotive giants will continue the subsequent expansion of the partnership in the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand markets.

Meanwhile, in China, sales of electric vehicles produced in the Asian country by US automaker Tesla rose 15.3% year-on-year to 74,117 units in July 2024. As specified by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Model 3 and Model Y “made in China” vehicle registrations increased 4.4% in July compared to the previous month.

In contrast, Chinese rival BYD, which produces the Dynasty and Ocean lines of electric and hybrid vehicles, reported a sharp 30.5% year-on-year increase in passenger car sales in July, hitting a new monthly high of 340,799 vehicles sold.