Tag Archives: Chinese cars

News

Chery is considering building a plant in Italy

European manufacturers are still struggling with Chinese car manufacturers, who are trying to conquer the European market in different ways, so the European Union introduced additional tariffs on vehicles from China. However, Chinese companies seem to have a “plan B”, building plants in Europe. After the Chinese car manufacturer BYD announced that it is building its plant in Hungary, another Chinese company (Chery) could follow the same path, but in Italy.

Currently, Stellantis is the only major car manufacturer in Italy and the new Italian government is trying to increase production by introducing another manufacturer, the Chinese company Chery. According to official information, the government is considering offering the Chinese manufacturer to build a plant in Italy, in order to increase the annual production of cars to over one million. Italy currently produces 800,000 cars a year.

Building a plant in Europe would be a good strategic decision that would allow Chinese companies to avoid obstacles when it comes to additional taxes or potential quotas that the EU could impose on vehicles imported from China. Obviously, Italy is the ideal place for that. According to Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso, over the past year the government has been talking to several manufacturers, including Tesla. The government’s goal is to increase production by an additional 300,000 cars per year.

Chery is the fifth largest Chinese car manufacturer with 1,881,316 vehicles sold in 2023. In the next two years, the company will launch three new SUV models with different power options, primarily intended for European customers. “Expectations are high and sales in Europe should be high enough to support the construction of the plant,” said Chery Europe Managing Director Jochen Tueting.

Source: Reuters

News

France cancels subsidy on electric cars produced in China

It has been written for a long time that Chinese electric cars are slowly but surely taking over the European market and endangering domestic production. Now that things have become serious, the question arises: How to protect European car manufacturers? France was the first to react by canceling incentives for electric cars produced in China.

To protect domestic car manufacturers, the French government is considering a new subsidy decree. Citizens with lower incomes will have a subsidy of up to 7,000 euros for the purchase of a new electric car, while for others it will be up to 5,000 euros.

The French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) will assess the car manufacturers’ requests and decide which models will be eligible for the subsidy. Materials, energy consumption, battery type, and the impact of transporting vehicles to Europe on the environment will be taken into account. French President Emmanuel Macron first announced the decision in May. Macron then said that the use of “French taxpayers’ money” to subsidize cars made outside the EU should stop.

“Customers who ordered cars from China can ask for a refund, but that would no longer be the case for most of them under the model we have created. If you don’t produce vehicles in the country, you will hardly remain eligible for the green bonus,” the French official said.

The decree has not yet been adopted, and the French government hopes that it will not affect relations between the two countries, as it complies with the rules of the World Trade Organization. The Chinese government has not yet commented on this.

Source: Reuters