Electric cars manufactured in China fell to the lowest level in 18 months in August in new car registrations in Europe. The 48 percent decline follows a decline also in July, according to statistics from the analysis institute Dataforce.
At the same time, the Chinese electric car giant BYD has overtaken MG – a British car brand that is now part of the Chinese SAIC Motor group – as the best-selling car brand in Europe among Chinese electric cars, according to Jato Dynamics, another institute that follows the development of the car market.
The decline comes as new EU tariffs on electric cars manufactured in China are being discussed, which would also affect non-Chinese manufacturers producing cars in China – such as BMW and Tesla.
At the same time, demand for electric cars in the EU has taken a hit. According to previously published EU figures from the industry organization ACEA, electric car registrations fell by 44 percent in August in the EU, to a total of 92,627 electric cars.