The reversal of Europe’s automotive trade with China

By Ranping Chen

Europe’s #automotive trade relationship with #China has seen a remarkable reversal. China is becoming less of a customer and more of an industrial competitor.

As our chart shows, the EU’s longstanding passenger-car trade surplus with China has turned into a sizable deficit. From a peak surplus of almost $32 billion in mid-2014 – when @BMW Group was the most popular imported brand – the balance has swung to a deficit of about $17 billion.

Recently, China and the EU reached a new understanding to moderate Chinese hybrid-car exports (following Brussels’ 2024 tariffs on Chinese-made battery-electric vehicles). EU officials say the arrangement could more than halve future hybrid imports; Beijing says it protects Chinese firms’ export interests.

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