Four out of ten electric cars imported recently came from China. The People’s Republic has thus significantly expanded its position as the most important importer – even if the absolute numbers have recently fallen due to the weak market.
Despite declining unit numbers, China has further consolidated its position as the most important importer of electric cars in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 31,500 electric cars were imported from the People’s Republic from January to April. This was 15.7 percent less than in the same period last year.
Nevertheless, China’s share of total imports of pure electric cars to Germany rose significantly to 40.9 percent. Last year, this share was 29 percent. In 2020, only twelve percent of imported electric cars came from China.
The recent increase was mainly due to the even more significant decline in electric car imports from countries such as the Czech Republic and South Korea.
Overall, imports of pure electric cars to Germany fell by 45.3 percent year-on-year to 77,000 vehicles from January to April due to weak demand in this country. “Chinese electric car imports therefore fell significantly less than total imports,” said the statisticians.
Chinese imports have increased tenfold since 2020
Last year, the number of purely electric cars imported from China tripled to 129,800 compared to the previous year. Since 2020, the number has even increased tenfold.
The EU Commission is currently threatening China with high punitive tariffs on electric cars. It justifies this with distortions of competition due to high state subsidies in the People’s Republic. According to the Commission, Chinese electric cars are normally around 20 percent cheaper than models manufactured in the EU.
If the upcoming negotiations with Chinese authorities and companies fail, the special tariffs of up to 38.1 percent could come into effect as early as July.