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Stellantis-backed Leapmotor has said that setting minimum prices for Chinese electric vehicles in Europe would prevent it bringing affordable small cars to the continent, even if the EU-Beijing plans lead to the lifting of tariffs.
Cao Li, senior vice-president of the Chinese carmaker, said “a commitment to a minimum price . . . wouldn’t be a favourable measure for small cars”.
The company said in Hong Kong on Wednesday that its small European models were “definitely” priced below the range currently being discussed by China and the EU.
Beijing and its carmakers have offered to introduce a system of voluntary price controls, in response to EU tariffs imposed last year of up to an extra 35 per cent on EVs from China. The controls would set a minimum sales price for imported vehicles and have been used before by Brussels to solve disputes.
Last week, China’s commerce ministry said the negotiations with the European Union on minimum pricing had entered “final stages”, but added that “efforts from both sides” were still needed to reach a deal.
Commission officials told the Financial Times the new system needed to be verifiable and simple.
In earlier negotiations, people close to the talks said Beijing offered a €35,000 minimum regardless of the model. At that level, cheaper cars such as those offered by Leapmotor, which would pose a competitive threat to small cars offered by Renault and other European manufacturers, would be excluded from the market.
The EU has imposed a 30.7 per cent tariff on electric cars made by Leapmotor, which is 20 per cent owned by Stellantis.
The Chinese group has been rapidly expanding its dealer network in Europe and wants to increase sales in the continent through the recent launch of its T03 small electric model, which has a starting price of €18,900.
The T03 model has gained popularity since its launch in Europe late last year and topped the small EV segment of the German market in recent months, Leapmotor’s Cao said.
Trade lawyers said Brussels has been wary of accepting such commitments in the past.
“The price undertaking would have to be bullet proof. The bar of scepticism for the Commission has gone higher and higher,” said Andrew Small, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund US.
A minimum price would also mean the bloc would forgo tariff revenue. A commission spokesperson said: “Negotiations continue at technical and political level.”
