Chinese car maker SAIC Motor on Wednesday said that it will take necessary legal measures to challenge the European Commission's decision to impose definitive countervailing duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) for a period of five years.
The company plans to bring the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union, said Zhou Qi, chief legal officer of the company.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation EU, announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its anti-subsidy investigation and decided to impose a definitive countervailing duty on imports of new battery EVs imported from China for a period of five years.
Starting from Wednesday, the sampled Chinese companies will be subject to different countervailing duties, specifically, 17.0 percent on BYD, 18.8 percent on Geely, and 35.3 percent on SAIC, according to the European Commission's announcement.
Additional firms that cooperated in the investigation will be subject to a 20.7-percent duty, while non-cooperative companies will incur the maximum 35.3-percent rate, the statement said.
SAIC Motor emphasized that this is the first time that the European Commission has proactively initiated an anti-subsidy investigation without receiving any requests from EU enterprises or industries, noting also that some foreign-funded enterprises in China are not included in the investigation.
"The European Commission's anti-subsidy investigation involves sensitive commercial information. They made errors in identifying subsidies and ignored many key facts and arguments presented by SAIC. We will take necessary legal measures, including bringing this case to the Court of Justice of the European Union, to protect our rights and interests," Zhou said.
He also said that the additional 35.3-percent tariff on SAIC's pure electric models will only raise costs for European car buyers, becoming a detriment to the development of the EV industry.
In a statement on Wednesday, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), on behalf of the Chinese automotive industry, expressed "great regret" over the decision to impose extra tariffs on electric vehicles originating in China.
The CCCME said the European Commission failed to rectify its "incorrect findings" in the final ruling on the imposition of definitive duties against Chinese EVs, and that there was a serious lack of transparency in the procedure, adding that the move seriously violates relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) and EU anti-subsidy rules.
SAIC Motor to take legal measures challenging Europe's EV tariff ruling
