According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is ready to impose duties of up to 25% on imports of electric cars manufactured in China. Duties already exist today and are around 10%.
For months, the European Union has been investigating to see if there are government subsidies in favor of Chinese manufacturers that could distort the market and undermine competition. In recent years, China has emerged as a leader in the electric mobility sector, both in terms of car production and battery production. And all this against the backdrop of a veritable explosion of Chinese-made cars (including non-electric), which has even overtaken Japan, the historical leader, in terms of exports, and BYD has overtaken Tesla. China has a real growth in the number of car manufacturers, numbering in the hundreds rather than tens, with real problems of overproduction (which Beijing denies) and competitiveness. Prices in the domestic market are very low, so exports are a necessity.
In fact, China is trying to dissuade the EU from taking such measures and has threatened retaliation against various European exports, particularly agri-food, dairy products, and alcohol. But even EU countries are not completely united, such as Germany, which has always said it is against raising duties. German luxury brands have a key market in Beijing, and various companies, most notably Volkswagen, own factories in China.