The European Commission has confirmed it will cap hybrid electric vehicle imports from China at 350,000 units per year under a landmark four-year agreement reached in Beijing.
Set to take effect in December under World Trade Organization safeguard measures, the quota is expected to halve China’s current 6% market share in Europe. Approximately 800,000 battery and plug-in hybrids are projected for sale this year, with Chinese hybrid exports to the EU tripling to €6.7bn (£5.7bn) in the first half of 2026.
Vehicles imported above the 350,000 threshold will remain held in customs at European ports. Chinese-branded vehicles assembled within EU member states will be exempt from the quota, whereas EU manufacturers producing vehicles in China for export back to Europe will be subject to the restriction. As part of the arrangement, China has agreed to reduce tariffs on European auto parts, footwear, olive oil, and ice cream.
An official stated: “We will continue the dialogue on some products … this is by no means the end of the story.”
The measure follows concerns over a £1bn-a-day trade deficit with China and potential domestic deindustrialisation.
An official said: “We are closely surveilling, our imports. We know what’s coming in. We know where there’s a surge, and we know what hits the hardest in terms of our deindustrialisation.”
Andrew Small, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, added: “I think if China had offered a deal like this earlier in the year, say in spring, it would have been much easier to take the heat out. My sense is that things have now moved somewhat too far politically.”
Source: The Guardian