- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
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- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
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- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
MG Motor, BYD and other Chinese electric car manufacturers say they will maintain their low sticker prices in Europe even after being hit with hefty tariffs this month.
MG, the best-selling Chinese electric car brand in Europe, says it will guarantee its prices until the end of 2024, having stockpiled cars before the duties took effect.
MG, an historic British company that is now a subsidiary of Shanghai SAIC, now faces EU duties of 35.3 percent.
"Prices in the automobile market have soared in recent years, but our desire to offer technological, safe and low environmental footprint vehicles to French motorists is intact," Julien Robert, vice-president of MG Motor France, said in a statement Friday.
BYD, which faces duties of 17 percent, is opening hundreds of dealerships across Europe and is offering discounts on its sedans and SUVs.
Starting at the end of October, Chinese electric cars imported into Europe will be subject to tariffs as high as 45 percent.
- Backlash -
The European Commission accuses Chinese manufacturers of receiving massive state subsidies and says the duties are necessary to create a level playing fields.
Tesla, which is being hit with duty of just 7.8 percent, initially raised prices on its Chinese-made Model 3 sedan before lowering them Tuesday.
Xpeng, which only offers high-end models in Europe, also told AFP it will not increase prices.
According to Sebastien Amichi, a consultant at Kearney, Chinese companies may be able to avoid jacking up prices for two to three years, especially if they receive help from the Chinese government.
Chinese car sales in Europe remain modest, about 300,000 in 2024 out of a market of 15 million vehicles, and therefore easy to subsidise, he said.
Meanwhile, MG, BYD and Chery plan to open factories in Hungary, Spain and Turkey to avoid the tariffs.
"There are European governments that have contacted me to ask if I could sell factories to Chinese companies," Carlos Tavares, director general of Stellantis (Peugeot, Fiat, Opel) said Thursday.
If the Chinese capture 10 percent of the European market, then "mathematically there are seven or eight factories that would close or be transferred to the Chinese," he said while visiting a factory in the east of France.
Stellantis has started making small electric cars for its Chinese partner Leapmotor in a Fiat factory in Poland.
At the same time, German brands fear a severe backlash on their sales in China, which represent a significant part of their profits.
And the Chinese government has retaliated by imposing tariffs on other European sectors, such as brandy producers.
O.Krause--BTB