While the European Union was thinking about how to block the path of Chinese electric cars to Europe, the car manufacturers of the Celestial Empire found a workaround: instead of battery cars, they will produce and export hybrids, since such vehicles are excluded from the tariff scheme.
In the very near future, the export flow of hybrids to Europe from the Chinese may increase, writes Reuters.
Experts believe that these will mainly be plug-in hybrids, but they will have about 400 km of electric range and an additional one that gives 50 km of autonomy on gasoline. So in effect the cars will be BEVs but labeled as plug-in hybrids.
Thus, despite European Union tariffs on electric cars of up to 45.3%, the Chinese car industry will not suffer much as it will continue to supply the Old World with electric cars that will be called hybrids.
„The growth is due to Chinese OEMs switching to plug-in hybrid vehicles as a way to circumvent new EU tariffs on battery-powered vehicle imports from China. Already this year, China's hybrid exports to the region will increase by 20 percent, and next year by more, Murtuza Ali, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told Reuters.
Various hybrids are gaining popularity in Europe and the US, where Chinese cars are taxed at 100 percent.
Hybrid exports to Europe from July to October more than tripled to 65,800 units compared to the same period last year. This statistic is provided by Reuters citing the China Automobile Association.
Hybrids (including PHEVs) accounted for 18% of total car sales from China to Europe in the third quarter, while EV shipments fell to 58% from 62% in the same period. Now the trend continues to gain momentum.
Another major threat to this trend is that major Chinese carmakers could disrupt the European plug-in hybrid markets, which are dominated by European and Japanese companies. They will follow the usual proven path - they will attract customers with cheaper models with better equipment and a large reserve of autonomy.