German car association rejects anti-subsidy measures targeting Chinese EVs in EU

德国汽车工业协会反对欧盟对中国电动汽车进行反补贴调查

FRANKFURT, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The anti-subsidy probe launched by the European Union (EU) against Chinese electric vehicle (EV) companies will not protect the automotive industry in the block but risk harming it instead, German automotive industry experts warned.

新华社法兰克福4月15日电-德国汽车行业专家警告称，欧盟（EU）对中国电动汽车（EV）公司发起的反补贴调查不仅不会保护该地区的汽车行业，此举反而有可能损害该行业的发展。

The anti-subsidy measures initiated by the EU, which threaten punitive tariffs on EVs imported from China will not solve the challenges of the German and European automotive industry, Hildegard Mueller, president of the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), said in a recent interview with German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag.

汽车工业协会（VDA）主席希尔德加德·穆勒（Hildegard Mueller）最近在接受德国《星期日世界报》（Welt Am Sonntag）采访时表示，欧盟发起的反补贴措施，对从中国进口的电动汽车征收惩罚性关税，无法解决德国和欧洲汽车行业面临的挑战。

China is an important market for German carmakers, which are involved in financing the green transformation at home with their revenue in China, according to the VDA chief.

德国汽车工业协会负责人表示，中国是德国汽车制造商的一个重要市场，德国汽车制造商利用在中国的收入为国内的绿色转型提供资金。

The possible trade conflict triggered by the investigation may also put jobs in Germany, that are dependent on business with China, at risk, argued Mueller.

穆勒认为，调查可能引发的贸易冲突也可能使德国的就业机会面临风险，这些就业机会依赖于与中国的业务。

Interdependencies and risks should be evaluated ahead of the probe, Mueller said, suggesting that the car industry should resort to dialogue instead of confrontation to settle disputes.

穆勒说，应该在调查前评估相互依赖关系和风险，并建议汽车行业通过诉诸对话而不是对抗来解决争端。

The EU launched in October 2023 an anti-subsidy investigation into the imports of battery electric vehicles from China after Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, alleged in September that imported Chinese EVs would flood Europe and distort the auto market.

欧盟于2023年10月对从中国进口的电动汽车发起反补贴调查。此前，欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩（Ursula von der Leyen）在9月份声称，从中国进口的电动汽车将涌入欧洲，并扭曲汽车市场。

The growth in sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Germany, the largest automotive market in Europe, slowed in 2023. Data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority shows that a total of around 520,000 BEVs were registered in Germany last year, up 11.4 percent from 2022. The pace of growth has slowed considerably compared with 2022, back when new EV registrations climbed by over 30 percent.

2023年，欧洲最大的汽车市场德国的纯电动汽车（BEVs）销量增长放缓。联邦汽车运输管理局的数据显示，去年德国注册电动汽车约52万辆，较2022年增长11.4%。与2022年相比，增长速度大幅放缓，当时新的电动汽车注册量增长了30%以上。

High EV prices in the EU are believed to be one of the main factors that keep prospective buyers at bay. Despite efforts made by local manufacturers to bring down the cost, price parity of EVs with conventional cars still remains a distant goal for the EU.

欧盟的高电动汽车价格被认为是让买家望而却步的主要因素之一。尽管当地制造商努力降低成本，但电动汽车与传统汽车的价格平价对欧盟来说仍然是一个遥不可及的目标。

Against this backdrop, the anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese EVs in the EU, according to Germany's Transport Minister Volker Wissing, will not make electric cars cheaper even if competition becomes less intense.

在此背景下，德国交通部长沃尔克·维辛（Volker Wissing）表示，即使竞争减弱，欧盟对中国电动汽车的反补贴调查，也不会使电动汽车的价格下降 。

Speaking against protectionism, Wissing told the German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that Germany does not want to seal off the market but to be engaged in global competition.

在谈到反对保护主义时，维辛对德国《新奥斯纳布吕克报》表示，德国不愿封锁市场，而是希望参与全球竞争。

Wissing urged companies to produce affordable EVs in the EU that the average wage-earner can afford and proposed that trade agreements instead of punitive tariffs are the right way to create fair competition.

Wissing敦促企业在欧盟生产普通工薪阶层可以负担得起的电动汽车，并建议贸易协定而不是惩罚性关税是创造公平竞争的正确方式。

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, at a roundtable in Paris on April 7, said that Chinese EV manufacturers' rapid development is a result of constant tech innovations, a well-established supply chain system and full market competition, rather than subsidies.

4月7日，中国商务部部长王文涛在巴黎举行的圆桌会议上表示，中国电动汽车制造商的快速发展是不断的技术创新，完善的供应链体系和充分的市场竞争的结果，而非依靠补贴。