South Korean media: The EU's tariff on Chinese electric vehicles is counterproductive! On April 3, the South Korean newspaper "Business Post" published an article stating that there is analysis suggesting that the EU's import tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, which began last year, is having the opposite effect. Local European vehicle manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Renault are becoming increasingly dependent on Chinese electric vehicle companies. According to Nikkei Asia, since the EU tariff took effect in October last year, Volkswagen and Renault have been increasing their reliance on Chinese electric vehicle technology. Volkswagen recently announced plans to cooperate with the Chinese company FAW to launch 10 new electric vehicles by 2030. In addition, Volkswagen also announced that it will jointly develop electric vehicle systems and software with Xiaopeng Auto, reducing the product release cycle from 54 months to 36 months. Renault also opened an electric vehicle research office in Shanghai, China in January this year, starting to develop a new low-to-medium-priced electric vehicle "Twingo", which will be launched in Europe. The EU attempted to weaken the influence of Chinese electric vehicles by imposing higher tariffs, but instead had the opposite effect, encouraging technical cooperation between European and Chinese enterprises. Nikkei Asia analyzed that "the EU tariff has brought about unexpected effects." The EU began imposing a maximum tariff of 45.3% on Chinese electric vehicles based on enterprises starting from October 30 last year. However, due to the alignment of interests between European vehicle manufacturers and Chinese electric vehicle companies, enterprise cooperation is increasing. Volkswagen's net profit fell 33% compared to 2023 last year. Stellantis's net profit plummeted by 70%. Net profits of other European companies such as Renault and BMW also declined during the same period. Due to the high cost of producing electric vehicles affecting the profitability of European automakers, they are turning their attention to Chinese companies. Even in China, where the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles is highly competitive, the EU tariff poses an obstacle to entering the market. Therefore, both sides are seeking solutions through technical alliances and other means, contrary to the intentions of EU authorities. The impact of the tariff on Chinese electric vehicle sales has yet to materialize. According to data from German market research company Schmitt Automotive Research, the market share of Chinese brands in Europe's electric vehicle market was 3.9% in the fourth quarter last year, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the third quarter. Nikkei Asia reported, "European automakers, facing financial difficulties, are turning to cooperation with Chinese companies with strong cost competitiveness. Chinese companies also like this approach as it can consolidate their position in Europe." Nikkei Asia also added that Europe not only heavily relies on Chinese companies in the electric vehicle sector but also in the battery sector. [Image: //p3-sign.toutiaoimg.com/tos-cn-i-ezhpy3drpa/d252a2faa68346daa54e726f4a770ded~tplv-obj:1920:1080.image?_iz=97245&bid=15&from=post&gid=1828383923483723&lk3s=06827d14&x-expires=1751414400&x-signature=jWc4ZQUdzOoMv9gXZbSs3PJDx9I%3D] Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828383923483723/ Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.