VDA opposes EU's threat of punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs

The European Union's measures against Chinese EVs such as additional tariffs would not solve the challenges facing the European automotive industry, said Hildegard Mueller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry.

In an interview with China Daily on Friday, Mueller said the association, which is also known as the VDA, does not support the anti-subsidy probe that the EU started in October into Chinese EV companies.

China-made EVs are gaining in popularity in Europe but the EU has claimed that their advantage is primarily the result of China's subsidies. It is considering imposing punitive tariffs on them.

Mueller said the EU's intentional trade barriers would quickly have a negative impact.

"What is needed instead is an active industrial strategy, including an active trade policy," she said.

The VDA calls for an open and fair market, where any form of protectionism should not exist, said Mueller.

Oliver Zipse, BMW's chairman of the board of management, shared a similar opinion.

"From BMW's view, we are in Europe very competitive, like in China. In full open markets, the best company will win, so we don't support that investigation," he said on Thursday.

Zipse added that the imports of pure electric vehicles into Europe from China are from non-Chinese carmakers, including BMW. "So if you look like that, BMW is a Chinese company, because we are exporting vehicles from China to Europe."

Mueller said China and Germany are important to each other's economic development.

The VDA's statistics show that there are around 5,000 German companies operating in China, offering over 1.5 million jobs in the country.

Of them, those in the automotive sector rank first in terms of investment in China. Meanwhile, one out of six vehicles on Chinese roads bears a German marque. Last year, German carmakers sold 3.8 million vehicles in the country.

Mueller, who visited the Beijing auto show, said what impressed her most are dynamics and innovation, as well as the China speed.

She said China and Germany are not only partners but also competitors as well, especially in the automotive industry, but such competition makes the industry more dynamic and innovative.