MILAN (Reuters) – Some of Europe’s biggest carmakers fell further on Thursday on concerns over how China will respond to new tariffs the European Commission slapped on imported Chinese electric cars in a bid to combat what they say is excessive subsidies from Beijing.
By 0847 GMT, Europe’s auto index fell 2.2% to its lowest in more than four months, while the broader region-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.6%. China exposed Volvo Car was the biggest faller, down 5%, followed by German carmakers Porsche AG, Volkswagen , Mercedes and BMW, down between 2-4%.
“The risk is that China is now also taking actions that would especially hit the German OEMs who are exporting to China,” said Stifel analyst Daniel Schwarz.
According to state news agency Xinhua, Beijing hopes the European Union will reconsider tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and stop going further in the “wrong direction” to shield its auto industry from competition.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Ozan Ergenay, editing by Alun John)
Source Agencies
