Report: Chinese Carmakers Float 25% Tax on EU Rivals

Facts

Chinese media has reported that domestic auto manufacturers have requested that the PRC Ministry of Commerce subject high-powered cars from the EU to a 25% tariff.¹
The request, which reportedly came at a meeting attended by four Chinese and six European automakers, comes after the EU said it could raise tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) by up to 48%.²
China's countermeasures against the EU are expected to target petrol engines bigger than 2.5 liters, affecting mostly 'luxury or ultra luxury' vehicles.³
According to analysts at Bank of America, German automakers — including Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW, who ship thousands of vehicles to China yearly — will likely be exposed to a potential tariff.¹
The EU's move was spurred by a probe into government-subsided EV makers in China, accusing them of anticompetitive practices. However, China claimed the tariffs breached international trade rules.⁴
The market share for Chinese EV makers in the EU has increased from 0.5% in 2019 to 8.2% in 2023 and is projected to reach 20% by 2027.⁵

Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Free trade means fair trade, and the West has been wholly unfair in its treatment of Chinese vehicles. The PRC is leading the world in EV research and development, and there's great demand for their vehicles. China must retaliate against the EU's unfair move by instituting its own tariffs. The market, not the West, picks the winners and losers.
Anti-China narrative, as provided by CleanTechnica. Unlike the EU, China cheats the system by unfairly subsiding their automakers — allowing them to flood the market at rock-bottom prices. This is a matter of one country trying to snuff out the development of a domestic EV industry in another. Until China plays by the rules and stops giving their vehicles an unfair leg-up, these tariffs will remain in effect.