The – somewhat masochistic – love affair with the Chinese car is about to take a hit. THE Chinese manufacturersmuch courted by the government with the interlocutions of the minister Adolfo Urso, invited to take over abandoned industrial sites – usually by Stellar -, they may not arrive: no factories in Italy, Beijing orders.
The issue is delicate. The first manufacturer to withdraw will, apparently, be Dongfengalready protagonist at Turin Auto Show and in the hope of finding a home in those parts. The emissaries of the House of Wuhan were in fact taken by the Piedmont Region to view three abandoned sites in Piedmont, one of which is the‘ex Maserati still for sale and another the former Pininfarina in Canavese. Then there is BYDfollowed for a long time but well oriented on Hungary, but overlooks Chery, which is looking for the right place to install at least one design and research center near Turinwhile confirming that his plan includes an Italian production (or perhaps better said: was there?). Finally, we are waiting for the arrival of the delegation Jacalso in Turin.
But from Beijing – understood as the government – came the diktat: no factories in Italy, no negotiations with other European countries. And since practically all the houses are state-owned, it is effectively a stop. The question, explains Quattroruote, is that these negotiations could interfere with those that China is having with the European Union on the tariff issue. If you look at it in a certain way, it almost seems like an “instrument of pressure” (or blackmail), like: don’t exaggerate with duties, benefits or not, let’s take production elsewhere.
On the other hand, time is running out, given that theThe deadline for the imposition of definitive duties on Chinese electric cars (but there is also Tesla for cars produced in Shanghai) is next Wednesday, October 30. This was recalled this morning by the European Commission spokesperson responsible for Trade and Agriculture, Olof Gill, in the daily press conference of the European executive, answering journalists’ questions.
In the morning, very high-level dialogues took place between the two parties: the executive vice president of the European Commission and commissioner for trade, Valdis Dombrovskishad a video call with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. The two took stock of the progress achieved in the eight rounds of technical negotiations and “the significant gaps that still exist”. And they reiterated their political commitment to find a mutually acceptable solutionwhich will need to be effective in addressing a level playing field in the EU market and compatible with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
But the negotiation relies heavily onanti-dumping investigation accomplished in recent months, with some Houses offering full or partial collaboration to Europe’s envoys and others withdrawing. The duties must be in proportion to the collaboration provided. In China, on the other hand, they have launched own anti-dumping measures against brandy, pork and dairy products. But, here too, everything is still in progress.
The manufacturers, for their part, are continuing their negotiations in some way. If BYD continues with Hungary, Chery with the Oimoda Jaecoo brands has the plant project in Barcelona has been stoppedbut only temporarily. leap motor, instead, it is in a very particular situation, exporting through Leapmotor International of which it is a 51% partner Stellar. A joint venture that also allows production in Europe, but at the moment nothing decisive has been communicated.
