acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/ecg/ecgassociationdev/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121Automotive News Europe — 2026-07-26
Automotive Industry
Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is demanding the European Union rapidly impose higher tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrid cars after they captured nearly a third of Europe’s PHEV market in the first half at the expense of established players.
“We have no time to lose,” Blume told analysts on the company’s first-half earnings call on July 24 after VW revised down its revenue forecast for 2026 amid costly U.S. tariffs and intensifying competition from China.
Plug-in hybrid cars from Chinese brands accounted for 28.3 percent of Europe’s PHEV market in the first six months with 208,368 sales, according to market analyst Dataforce.
The three top-selling PHEVs in the region were Chinese models, led by the BYD Seal U midsize SUV, followed by the BYD Atto 2 small SUV and the Jaecoo 7 midsize SUV. Last year’s PHEV leader, the Volkswagen Tiguan, slipped to fourth place.
Blume said he hoped that EU politicians would agree on strategies in the coming months. “It will bring the European automotive market to a level playing field,” he said.
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Blume wants new PHEV tariffs that would be structured like the tariffs already imposed on Chinese-built battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), which add up to 35 percent on top of the standard 10 percent import duty. “The regulations on BEVs are working. There we are competitive in terms of pricing. Where it’s not working is with the plug-in hybrids,” he said.
The EU is considering extra tariffs on plug-in hybrids imported from China, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported June 19, citing high-ranking officials and industry sources.
Both Chinese and established automakers use PHEVs to meet EU CO2 emissions reduction targets, and the powertrain qualifies for tax incentives in some countries, offsetting higher purchase prices versus standard combustion vehicles.
Chinese brands’ European market share reaches 9.5%
Chinese automakers have targeted Europe with attractively priced electric and hybrid models as their domestic sales decline amid intense competition and a weak market.
Sales by Chinese brands in Europe increased 101 percent to 685,990 vehicles in the first half in a market that grew 5.9 percent to 7.2 million vehicles, boosting their share to 9.5 percent from 5 percent a year earlier.
“Chinese competitors have the pressure in their home market and export is their only opportunity to be successful,” Blume said.
Blume also called for rapid implementation of wider protections for the European car industry under the planned ‘Made in Europe’ industrial policy that would include local content thresholds, state support and incentives linked to regional production to strengthen supply chains and reduce reliance on imports.
VW could import Chinese models but won’t share plants
Blume has proposed doubling job cuts to 100,000 from 50,000 already agreed with unions and warned that four German plants are at risk of closure after 2030.
He said VW could import some of its own Chinese cars into Europe, taking advantage of cheaper costs in China. But VW will not share its European plants with Chinese automakers to reduce undercapacity as Stellantis and Ford are doing, he said.
Ford and Geely are creating a joint venture to build electrified models at Ford’s Valencia, Spain, factory, and Stellantis will build cars from Chinese partner Leapmotor in its Spanish plants starting this year.
VW has underused factories, a 30 percent cost gap to the competition and needs to reduce overhead expenses by at least €10 billion ($11.4 billion), the automaker’s finance chief Arno Antlitz told Bloomberg Television on July 24.
Antlitz said on the call with analysts that the proposed additional job cuts would fall mostly in administrative areas worldwide.
Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report.