EU Negative News Strikes! BYD and "Wei Xiaoli" in Trouble, Tesla Emerges as the Big Winner?
US stocks fell more than 3% before the market opened, with Xiaopeng Motors, NIO, and Ideal Motors down 2%, while Tesla rose 1%.
According to the Shanghai Securities News, on September 13th, the official website of the European Commission disclosed that Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, stated during the fourth "State of the Union" address to the European Parliament that the European Commission will initiate an anti-subsidy investigation into electric cars imported from China.
It is worth noting that this comes at a time when Chinese electric vehicle brands are aggressively entering the European market. Companies such as BYD, NIO, and XPeng have already sought or started selling electric cars in Europe.
In pre-market trading, XPeng Motors fell over 3%, NIO and Li Auto fell 2%, while Tesla rose 1%.
Responding to competition from Chinese brands?
This move seems to be in support of traditional car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, which hold a core position in the European economy.
Although these groups have successfully entered the electric vehicle market, they are facing increasing pressure from Chinese brands.
Matthias Schmidt, author of the "European Electric Vehicle Report," stated that the fastest-growing electric vehicle brand in Europe is BYD, whose registrations from January to July 2023 increased by 323%. Schmidt's research covers 95% of the electric vehicle market in the European region.
From January to July this year, the registration of Chinese electric cars increased by over 130% compared to the same period last year, while the registration of European traditional brands only grew by 36%.
Tesla emerges as the big winner?
However, American brands, mainly Tesla, which have not been targeted by the EU investigation, saw a surge of 108% in registrations during the same period.
Tesla seems to be an indirect beneficiary of European protectionist measures.
Schmidt stated that as of the end of July, Tesla's market share in Europe for 2023 was close to 19%, a 129% increase from the same period in 2022.
According to Schmidt's research, the Model Y is the best-selling electric vehicle in the region, with a market share of 14% as of the end of July, surpassing its closest competitor, the Volkswagen ID.4, which has a market share of 5%.