Chinese automakers BYD and MG have sharply increased hybrid sales in Europe after the European Union imposed additional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, Handelsblatt reported.
The European Commission last year introduced extra levies on top of the standard 10% duty applied to all cars made in China, following an anti-subsidy investigation. As a result, BYD faced a 17.0% surcharge and MG’s parent SAIC 35.3%.
According to figures from Dataforce cited by Handelsblatt, BYD registered around 20,000 plug-in hybrids in the EU in the first half of 2025, marking a 17,000% rise year on year. The company only began selling plug-in hybrids in Europe in 2024 with the Seal U DM-i, and is now preparing to add models such as the Seal 6 estate. MG has also seen plug-in and full hybrid registrations rise while battery-electric sales dropped 60% over the same period.
“The MG HS plug-in hybrid SUV starts at just €28,000, compared to around €40,000 for the equivalent VW Tiguan PHEV. These are fight prices,” said Beatrix Keim, director of the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg, in Handelsblatt. She warned that Europe is “at the start of a plug-in price war.”
BYD is also pressing ahead with plans to localise production, building factories in Hungary and Turkey that would exempt its cars from both standard and special tariffs.
European automakers are not immune. The Cupra Tavascan, Mini Aceman and Mini Cooper SE, all produced in China, are subject to combined tariffs of 30.7%. Seat/Cupra has pointed to the duties as a reason for weaker results, while BMW and other manufacturers have filed lawsuits against the EU, arguing that the tariff methodology contains procedural flaws, Handelsblatt said.