It was all too easy to predict that the passive acceptance of EU duties against Chinese electric cars would cost the Meloni government dearly. And, in fact, now the Beijing government presents the bill: Dongfeng will not open an EV production factory in our country. And the hope is that it doesn’t do the same too Cherywhich also announced its intentions to expand in the Bel Paese, which include not only a production site, but also a design centre. This is the news Bloombergstating that the Chinese executive has asked its houses to suspend strategies aimed at commercial and production expansion in Europe. And, famously, if the Chinese government asks, it is an order to which it is advisable to comply.
According to Bloomberg, Dongfeng will not come to Italy
The Chinese government had released eloquent signals before the vote on EU tariffs against its electric cars. The Meloni government, however, wanted to pretend nothing had happened and join the European Commission. After having also seen fit to tear up the Silk Road, to make Washington happy. Now Beijing presents the bill, which could prove dramatic for the country, at a time when Stellantis is closing everything that is possible.
According to rumors from the Bloomberg agency, the Chinese government is putting pressure on its houses to ensure that they do not carry forward their commercial and production expansion plans in the Old Continent. Starting precisely from that Dongfeng which now seemed on the verge of landing in Italy and with which the centre-right government had flirted for a long time.
Bloomberg herself then added that the request from the central authorities would include a stop to the search for production sites, the signing of commercial agreements and the adoption of a low profile. This will be the case at least until the negotiations with the EU have resulted in concrete results that satisfy the needs of both parties. It is not complicated to see in this advice a pressure strategy on the EUat a time when the European automotive sector is in great difficulty.
Again according to the news agency, in addition to duties there is another issue underlying Beijing’s request. That is, that of production overcapacity which could be caused by an electrical transition that is proving to be more complicated than expected. The resulting slowdown in demand for electric vehicles from European consumers would call for pause for thought.
Beijing orders, Dongfeng executes
Dongfeng immediately accepted the “advice” of its government and informed the Italian government of the suspension of the project. In doing so he made Rome face its responsibilities, recalling the centre-right’s support (but it would probably have been the same with the centre-left) for Brussels’ protectionism.
However, it is not the only Chinese company to have complied with central directives. They immediately joined it Changan and Chery. The former canceled the event planned in Milan to make its entry strategies into Europe public. The second has decided to postpone the start of production of electric vehicles in the Barcelona plant acquired with the Spanish Ebro until 2025, putting the entire production schedule under examination.
The Chery case also concerns Italy. In fact, in the past few days Shawn Xumanaging director of brands Omoda e Jaecooduring a meeting with the Italian press on the sidelines of the Global Innovation Week he had stated: “For sure, what we have done in Spain is not enough, so Italy is one of the candidates for a second factory.”
Not only that, because he had also responded in this way to a specific question on theopening of a design center: “Yes, we aim to open it very soon. We have plans for a headquarters with a significant number of employees, around a hundred at the beginning, but then there will be many more: in Italy there are many engineering skills, but also and above all in the field of design. We are currently in a negotiation phase and I can confirm that the Turin area is being considered among the alternatives.”
Topic: Electric Cars
