What's Going On With Chinese EV Stocks Nio, Li Auto, XPeng On Wednesday?

Brussels' decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles will impact companies such as BYD Co BYDDF and SAIC, as well as Tesla Inc TSLA, which manufactures in China.

Starting next month, the European Commission plans to apply provisional duties of up to 25% on imported Chinese EVs, aiming to counteract the subsidies Chinese manufacturers receive from their government.

This measure could escalate to about 35%, significantly lower than the 100% duties applied by the U.S., the Financial Times reports.

Also Read: Nio, XPeng, and Li Auto Surge in Sales with Aggressive Discounts Amidst Market Pressures

Chinese EV companies, including NIO Inc NIO and Li Auto Inc LI, traded lower on Wednesday following the report. XPeng Inc XPEV stock price did not react.

The tariffs, championed by France and Spain, are projected to generate over $2.15 billion (2 billion euros) annually for the EU budget as Chinese EV sales in Europe grow.

In 2023, China exported $10.76 billion (10 billion euros) worth of electric cars to the EU, FT noted.

The Kiel Institute, an economic think tank, suggests that an extra 20% tariff could cut Chinese electric car imports by a quarter, reducing about 125,000 units from the 500,000 vehicles imported in 2023.

2023 Germany alone exported 216,299 cars to China, experiencing a 15% drop from the previous year.

Volvo Car AB VLVCY recently migrated EV production to Belgium to dodge the EU tariffs.

Earlier in May, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius urged the EU to reduce tariffs on EVs imported from China.

China is Tesla's biggest market after the U.S. and accounted for 33% of global sales in 2023, CNN cited Rho Motion.

Price Actions: NIO shares traded lower by 3.14% at $4.32 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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