Stellantis rejects EU duties on Chinese cars: 'No to measures that increase market fragmentation'

As a global company, 'Stellantis believes in free and fair competition in a global trading environment and does not support measures that contribute to the fragmentation of the world'. This is how a spokesperson for the automotive group commented on the European Union's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese automakers. "Stellantis will study today's announcement, which will materialise on 4 July 2024 at the latest, when the Commission will publish a regulation in the Official Journal explaining in detail the provisional findings that led to the level of the duties.

In this context, Stellantis will leverage its unique competitive advantages,' said the spokesperson, referring firstly, to the '51/49 joint venture with Leapmotor, which holds Leapmotor's production rights outside China and could benefit from Stellantis' diversified footprint in Europe. Secondly, the European-produced Citroën ë-C3, whose price starts at EUR 20,000 for a pure electric vehicle that can compete with Chinese products'.

Stellantis, concludes the spokesperson, 'is agile in adapting and taking advantage of any scenario and today's announcement of tariffs will not deter our overall strategy towards Leapmotor in Europe, as we have taken this potential development into account'. The EU Commission has preliminarily concluded that the electric car production chain in China benefits from unfair subsidies, and if discussions with the Chinese authorities do not lead to an effective solution, tariffs will be triggered on 4 July. In particular, the three Chinese manufacturers Byd, Geely and Saic will be hit with tariffs of 17.4%, 20% and 38.1% respectively. The topic of tariffs will be among the topics under discussion during the Stellantis Investor Days, which takes place tomorrow in Detroit, Michigan. The CEO, Carlos Tavares, will give an update on the progress of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, in the general context of the electric slowdown.