The European Commission now wants to tax Chinese PHEVs
- 说明
The European Commission now wants to tax Chinese PHEVs
- Passenger cars with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were sold in 594,439 units in the first five months of 2026 in Europe (30 countries: EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway) compared to 475,564 units in the first five months of 2025, representing a 25% increase over the period compared to the same period last year.
- Of the 594,439 PHEVs sold in Europe from January to May 2026, 143,239 were of Chinese origin, meaning they were Chinese-made, representing 24% of all PHEVs sold in Europe during that period. Last year, from January to May 2025, only 40,564 PHEVs of Chinese origin were sold in Europe, representing 8.5% of all PHEVs sold in Europe.
- Following the implementation in November 2024 of additional tariffs on imported all-electric vehicles, Chinese carmakers opted to prioritize imports of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Consequently, the increase in PHEV sales in Europe during the first five months of 2026 compared to 2025 is primarily attributable to Chinese-made PHEVs (an additional 102,675 units out of a total of 118,875 sales). The sales volume of Chinese-made PHEVs is now very close to that of all-electric vehicles sold in Europe. Thus, Chinese carmakers sold 148,940 all-electric cars in the first five months of 2026 (compared to 74,321 units in the first five months of 2025).
- The European Commission therefore now wants to tax PHEVs from China, in the same way that it had taxed battery electric vehicles from China in 2024.
In 2025, the Egyptian car market came back to its 2022 level
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In 2025, the Egyptian car market came back to its 2022 level
- The Egyptian automotive market continued its growth in 2025 , after experiencing a decline in registrations from 2021 to 2023. In 2025, the market reached a volume of 164,000 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, compared to 97,000 in 2024 and 86,000 in 2023 (source: OICA). This represents a 69% increase in 2025 compared to 2024, which itself had seen a 13% increase compared to 2023. The Egyptian market has almost doubled in size in two years. This strong growth follows two years of decline, first in 2022 which totaled 175,000 registrations compared to 278,000 in 2021, representing a decrease of 37%, then in 2023 which totaled 86,000 registrations compared to 175,000 in 2022, representing a decrease of 51%.
- What proportion of this volume of registrations did imports represent?
- According to our information, imports account for approximately 70% of car registrations in Egypt, with locally assembled CKD models representing approximately 30% of registrations in 2025.
- In terms of body style, SUVs account for 54% of registrations in 2025, a figure that has been steadily increasing for over a decade, while sedans and minivans represent 46% of registrations. Regarding origin, sales of Chinese vehicles have been growing strongly for several years, representing 35% of registrations in 2025 , compared to 30% in 2024 and 25% in 2023, and could reach 40% of the Egyptian market in 2026, surpassing Japanese (20%) and Korean (15%) carmakers. Asian carmakers will therefore occupy three-quarters of the Egyptian market for the first time in 2026. Electric vehicles (BEVs) remain very marginal in the Egyptian market in 2025 (5.9% of sales).
The VW Group wants to reduce its production capacity in Europe by one million units
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The VW Group wants to reduce its production capacity in Europe by one million units
- The Volkswagen Group announced at the very beginning of 2025 that it would reduce its production capacity by 734,000 vehicles per year in Germany by 2028 , including 400,000 units at the Wolfsburg site, 180,000 at the Zwickau site, 100,000 at the Hanover site, 27,000 at the Dresden site, 27,000 at the Osnabrück site.
- Today, that is to say at the end of spring 2026, the management of the first European carmaker announces that it intends to reduce the production capacity of the Volkswagen group by one million units in Europe by 2028, which means that it intends to reduce production capacity by 266,000 vehicles in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia where the Volkswagen group produces cars.
- The brands most affected would be Volkswagen and Audi. In this regard, it's interesting to note that Audi will be discontinuing four of its best-known models in quick succession: the A1, Q2, A7, and A8, the latter having been a rival to the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series for many years. With the imminent arrival of the Audi Q9, it's possible that the future of Audi's premium segment will lie with SUVs rather than limousines.
BEV market share in Europe (30 countries) over 6 months 2026
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BEV market share in Europe (30 countries) over 6 months 2026
The Eastern part of Europe has less than 15% BEV registrations, while the Western part of Europe has more than 20% BEV registrations.
The Southern part of Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece) has also less 15% BEV registrations.
In Europe, Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan partnered with Chinese carmakers to produce vehicles
- 说明
In Europe, Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan partnered with Chinese carmakers to produce vehicles
- Faced with overcapacity in their European factories following the downturn in the European market and pressure from Chinese carmakers, Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan have decided to welcome Chinese automakers with open arms , offering them access to their own factories in Europe. This strategy, which favors sharing an industrial site over closing it, allows for:
1. to European carmakers to make optimal use of their currently oversized European industrial tool.
2. to allow Chinese carmakers to produce and sell their models in Europe without being subject to the European surtax on vehicles produced in China.
- Stellantis was one of the first to adopt this strategy, announcing that the Chinese company Leapmotor would produce vehicles at Stellantis's Zaragoza plant in Spain. Stellantis is now reportedly considering selling its Villaverde plant in Spain to the Chinese carmaker to produce its own vehicles, replacing the Citroën C4 and C4X. Finally, a new Opel vehicle, based on a Leapmotor model, is slated for launch in 2028 and will be produced in Zaragoza.
- Ford, for its part, is in discussions with the Chinese company Geely regarding the sale of part of its Valencia plant, where the Ford Kuga SUV is currently produced but which is suffering from significant overcapacity following the discontinuation of the Ford Mondeo, Galaxy, S-Max, and Connect. A new Ford SUV could even be launched based on a Geely model to replace the Kuga .
- As for Nissan, it has just announced that Chery will produce several of its models from 2027 onwards in its underutilized British factory in Sunderland.