- European car CEOs criticize EU tariffs on Chinese EVs, urging learning from rivals.
- EU plans tariffs up to 35% on Chinese EVs, fearing market disruption by cheap imports.
- Stellantis partners with Leapmotor, gaining exclusive rights to sell its EVs outside China.
European car bosses have a solution to the Chinese EV invasion — if you can't beat them, at least learn from them.
Speaking at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday, the bosses of European auto giants such as BMW and Stellantis attacked the EU's proposed tariffs on Chinese EVs, and urged struggling European automakers to learn from the success of their Chinese rivals to kick-start the continent's sluggish EV sales.
The European Union voted to impose tariffs of up to 35% on Chinese EV makers this month amid fears that a wave of cheap, subsidized Chinese electric vehicles could upend the European auto market.
The CEOs of BMW and Stellantis attacked the proposed tariffs, saying they would be ineffective and might backfire on consumers.
"We should not be so afraid of everything. It is not so easy to sell non-European cars in Europe," BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said at the motor show.
He said that the tariffs would "inflict" damage on BMW, which imports cars from China, and harm its European consumers as a result.
"We shouldn't give up before the race has even started. We don't need protection, we need fair trade rules," he added.
The decision to impose tariffs was not unanimous. Several nations are believed to have voted against the move, including Germany, which had been lobbied by automakers such as BMW and Mercedes, fearful that China might retaliate and target their businesses there.
It comes as EV sales in Europe plunge, with registrations falling by 44% in August compared to last year.
Stagnating demand has led some automakers to pump the brakes on their EV plans, and others to push for the EU to reconsider looming emissions targets that could leave them facing billions in fines.
Meanwhile, their Chinese rivals continue to make inroads into the continent despite trade barriers.
Europe's EV dilemma
Tesla rivals BYD and Xpeng both unveiled new models this week at the Paris Motor Show, one of Europe's biggest auto events.
Luca de Meo, the CEO of French automaker Renault, said European automakers had a golden opportunity to learn from their Chinese counterparts, who he said were now developing new cars in as little as two years.
"There is an opportunity that we have no right to miss, and that is to learn from our competitors," de Meo said, speaking at the summit in Paris.
"This is what Europeans like Fiat, Citroen, and Renault did a century ago in the United States when Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing, and it's what the Chinese automakers did with us," he added.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, de Meo declined to comment on the EU's prospective tariffs on Chinese automakers.
However, he said that ramping up "electrification" in Europe would be difficult "without good cooperation" with China, given its dominant role in the EV battery and materials market.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said it was "a dream" to believe that tariffs would effectively protect Western auto industries.
"These short-term actions will have negative mid and long-term implications. The only way to protect ourselves is to compete with the newcomers and raise ourselves to their game," said the boss of the Jeep and Ram maker.
Stellantis has partnered with Chinese EV firm Leapmotor, which has given it exclusive rights to sell Leapmotor's EVs outside of China.
Tavares said the company had decided that the best way to compete with China was to partner with one of their automakers, and "hop on their train instead of letting it run us over."
"We need to understand where the Chinese automakers are strong, and through our investment in Leapmotor we have a perfect transparent understanding of what makes the difference. That is very helpful," said Tavares.
BMW, Stellantis, and Renault did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.