In the first eight months of 2024, China exported to the EU electric vehicles worth $8.5 billion which is 30.8% of the total Chinese export volume, the customs service showed.
Belgium remained the largest buyer of Chinese electric cars in January-August 2024 with its purchases reaching $4.7 billion, which is almost 55% of all deliveries to the EU. Germany took second place, buying electric cars for $1.19 billion (14%), while Spain came third with $1.06 billion (12.5%).
Next came Slovenia with $697.4 million (8.2%), Sweden with $283.2 million (3.3%), the Netherlands with $261.9 million (3.1%), Italy with $104.6 million (1.2%). France ($89.5 million), Poland ($58.8 million) and Romania ($16.8 million) rounded out the top ten.
The largest increase in China's electric vehicles purchases over the year was seen in Cyprus (by 21.9 times up to $1.5 million), Luxembourg (by 21.8 times to $7.5 million) and Estonia (by 12.9 times to $5.9 million). Imports to Ireland also increased significantly - by 5.3 times to $7.8 million.
The European Commission said on Friday that EU countries voted to impose hefty tariffs on China-made electric cars, citing what it referred to as unfair Chinese subsidies. Brussels and Beijing will continue seeking an alternative solution to the dispute, with the final decision due on October 30.
The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU urged the EU to prioritize negotiations over tariffs and argued in favor of multilateralism and free trade within the green economy.