Cupra fears being “wiped out” by the impending EU import tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, due to a snowball effect that would put “the whole financial future of the company at risk”.
Proposals being trialled by the European Commission target both Chinese car makers and European firms that have moved production to China, where operating costs are cheaper.
They have come in response to calls to protect the European car industry as the European market has been flooded with cheaper options from China.
For Volkswagen Group brand Cupra, this would mean an additional 21.3% tariff (on top of the existing 10%) on each example of its new Anhui-built Tavascan EV, which would either need to be swollowed or added to list prices.
What’s more, any hit on Tavascan sales would mean the Spanish brand would miss its EU emissions targets, resulting in heavy fines being imposed.
“It puts the whole financial future of the company at risk,” Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths told The Telegraph. “The intention was to protect the European car industry, but for us it’s having the opposite effect.”
He argued: “We’re not a Chinese brand trying to swamp the European market. Our cars are not for the masses. The car is not a subsidised product. We’re a different animal.”
Moving Tavascan production away from China has also been deemed unviable, Griffiths said, given the large investment already pumped into the Anhui plant to increase capacity.
The rest of the Cupra’s five car line-up is produced in the EU, with its only other EV, the Born, built in Germany.
Other Western car makers targeted by the EU’s new tarriffs include BMW, Mini and Tesla.
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