SAIC sues EU over "unfair" EV tariffs; MG Motor dodges impact

The British brand won't see a price hike on its electric vehicles.

MG4 Electric

Angel Sergeev

By: Angel Sergeev

Nov 4, 2024 at 3:09am ET

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Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) has announced it’s taking the European Commission to court. The giant Chinese carmaker claims the EU's recent anti-subsidy investigation is a mess of mishandled information, factual blunders, and, to top it off, a disregard for evidence SAIC says it served up by the truckload. According to SAIC, the EU’s probe didn't just target its business unfairly – it put sensitive commercial data out in the open, leaving the automaker fuming.

The controversy centres on SAIC’s electric vehicles, which have been slapped with a hefty tariff of up to 35.3 per cent in the European Union. The new tax is, allegedly, the EU’s way of clamping down on what it sees as state-subsidised pricing strategies. For SAIC, however, this move is likely to raise EV prices for European consumers, making it harder for buyers to switch to greener rides. “Our defense arguments are nowhere to be seen in the final determination,” SAIC grumbled in a statement, calling the investigation process a “one-way conversation.” It is now revving its legal engines to contest the findings in the European Court.

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But don’t cue the violins just yet. Despite SAIC’s courtroom theatrics, its subsidiary MG Motor has emerged unscathed – at least for now. The UK-based arm of the company, best known for budget-friendly EVs like the MG4, has not been caught in the tariff crossfire. “MG EV models are not affected by these tariffs,” the company reassured its British customers, hinting that MG will continue selling its popular electric vehicles at bargain prices in the United Kingdom. So, while SAIC is busy lawyering up, MG Motor in the UK is gearing up to meet the rising demand for affordable EVs without the tariff-induced sticker shock.

Meanwhile, SAIC’s ambitions in India are hitting their own set of speed bumps. JSW MG Motors India – a joint venture between SAIC and India’s JSW Group – has been held up by a different kind of investigation. India’s government is pouring over the company’s foreign investment proposal with a fine-toothed comb to ensure it complies with “Press Note 3,” a policy that regulates investments from neighbouring countries. The proposal review, led by India’s Union Home Secretary, has left the joint venture anxiously waiting for the green light to access India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) benefits.

Source: SAIC

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