Technology, Price Aid China’s EVs In Europe; EU Missteps Too

China’s electric automakers will do well in Europe, not only because of superior and cheaper products, but because the European Union’s blundering approach to net zero CO2 regulation has exposed its own domestic industry to an existential threat.

The EU has decreed there shall be no new internal combustion engine (ICE) sedans or SUVs sold after 2035, and that includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Between now and 2035 more battery electric vehicles (BEV) will be needed as tightening rules attack ICE profitability. Because European automakers’ BEVs lag China’s, this presents an easy open goal to the newcomers.