Background to possible e-car tariffs: China triples German sales

Against the backdrop of the European Commission's threat of severe punitive tariffs on electric cars from China, it is worth taking a look at the development of the figures. According to the Federal Statistical Office, imports of Chinese electric cars have tripled in terms of both volume and value compared to the previous year. A protectionist tariff would also affect German manufacturers who produce in China for export to the German market.

Although the number of electric cars from China fell significantly in the first four months of 2024 due to weak demand, the share of Chinese cars in total German e-car imports rose sharply. In 2023, a total of 129,800 electric cars worth 3.4 billion euros were imported from China to Germany, compared to just 43,200 battery electric cars worth 904.0 million euros in 2022. Compared to 2020, imports of Chinese e-cars even increased tenfold from 12,800 worth 115.2 million euros.

Over a quarter of e-cars came from China in 2023

In 2023, more than twice as many e-cars came from China compared to the previous year. They accounted for 29.0 percent of the 447,200 e-cars imported to Germany. This was followed by South Korea with 9.9 percent or 44,200 e-cars and the Czech Republic with 9.3 percent or 41,600 e-cars. In 2022, Chinese battery electric cars still accounted for 12.0 percent of imports and only 7.7 percent in 2020.

Slump of 15.7 percent from January to April 2024

From January to April 2024, the import share of Chinese electric cars rose to 40.9 percent, although their number fell by 15.7 percent year-on-year due to weak German demand. From January to April 2024, 31,500 electric cars from China entered the German market, followed by the Czech Republic with 8,100 electric cars and South Korea with 6,700. Both countries suffered significantly more than China, with the Czech Republic suffering a loss of almost a third (minus 31.3 percent) and South Korea more than half (51.3 percent). Overall, imports of electric cars in this period fell by 45.3 percent year-on-year to 77,000 units.

In 2023, 11,400 electric cars worth 848.3 million euros were exported from Germany to China, 30.5 percent less than in 2022. In contrast, Germany exported 85,900 electric cars worth 5.1 billion euros to the USA, an increase of 32.3 percent compared to the previous year.

(fpi)