China-made electric vehicles will be subject to a special customs registration process starting Thursday by the European Commission, meaning manufacturers will have to pay anti-subsidy duties for their EVs already imported if the EU’s ongoing probe concludes that they benefit from unfair state subsidies. The Commission said in a Tuesday statement that it had sufficient evidence to show Chinese EVs were being subsidized, and that imports had risen by 14% year-on-year since the investigation was formally launched in October, which could negatively impact European automakers. In October, Brussels officially launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese battery EVs and later carried out visits to three Chinese auto majors – namely BYD, Geely, and SAIC – according to a Jan. 12 report by Reuters. The probe is set to conclude by November and the EU could impose provisional duties in July. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said on Thursday it was disappointed with the EU’s mandate for customs registration while an investigation remains ongoing. [Reuters, CCCEU statement]
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