Norway does not discriminate against Chinese electric cars like the EU

Norway, a pioneer in the transition to electric vehicles, will not "join hands" with the EU in imposing higher taxes on Chinese electric vehicles (Illustration photo: Nio).

"Imposing additional tariffs on Chinese cars is neither appropriate nor desirable for the Norwegian government," the country's Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in an email to Bloomberg .

With the highest proportion of electric vehicles in the world, Norway recorded 24% of cars as electric last year, and more than 80% of new cars sold in 2022 will be electric, according to Statistics Norway.

Meanwhile, according to the Norwegian Road Association (OFV), more than 12% of electric cars imported into Norway are Chinese, a figure that includes the Polestar brand but excludes Volvo cars.

Norway, which is not a member of the European Union (EU), is the first European market that many Chinese electric vehicle startups are targeting. Nio has been present in Norway since May 2021, a year before its official launch in the EU. Xpeng even launched in Norway earlier, in 2020.

Norway is also a key market for some lesser-known Chinese brands in Europe, such as Dongfeng's Voyah, which has been selling its Free SUV there since 2022.

Xpeng sold 67 vehicles and Nio sold 66 vehicles in Norway last month. Meanwhile, Tesla sold 830 vehicles and Volkswagen sold 1,372 ID.

Leading the way among Chinese electric car makers in Norway are Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and Geely Group.

MG sold 497 electric cars in Norway in May. The British brand, now owned by SAIC, will face an additional 38.1% tariff in the EU from July 4, in addition to the 10% import tax currently in place.

Polestar, a brand under the Geely Group, sold 328 electric vehicles in May. All MG and Polestar cars are currently manufactured in China.

Britain, another European country not in the EU, has not said whether it will impose tariffs on electric cars made in China like the EU.

On June 12, the European Commission (EC) announced the results of an investigation showing that Chinese pure electric vehicles and their supply chains have been unfairly subsidized. As a result, the agency decided to add temporary import duties ranging from 17.4% to 38.1% on electric vehicles manufactured in China, depending on the brand.

However, many European carmakers are not in favor of this, as they are currently heavily dependent on sales in China and they fear the risk of retaliation from Beijing.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU has warned that China is considering raising tariffs on imported cars if the EU goes ahead with the hike.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/o-to-xe-may/na-uy-khong-phan-biet-doi-xu-voi-xe-dien-trung-quoc-nhu-eu-20240616130011763.htm