BYD, Geely, SAIC Challenge EU's EV Tariffs At European Court

Chinese Auto giants BYD, Geely, and SAIC have formally challenged the European Union's import duties by filing a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Reuters reports that the legal documents were submitted to the General Court, the lower house of the CJEU, just before the deadline.


The EU slapped tariffs on Chinese EVs after an anti-subsidy investigation. These tariffs make Chinese EV imports way more expensive, with BYD facing 17.0%, Geely 18.8%, and SAIC a whopping 35.3%, on top of the usual 10% automobile import duty. The General Court's hearings on the dispute could take up to 18 months, so a resolution might be a long way off.


According to sources, the three companies would also probably dispute the investigation's procedure, particularly the fact that they were chosen as a sample from which the average anti-subsidy tariff was determined and applied to other exporters.

The commission's year-long inquiry into China's EV industry, launched in October 2023, concluded that supply chain subsidies were enabling the influx of cheap Chinese EVs into Europe. This, the commission determined, threatened the stability of the European auto sector.