By Gilles Guillaume
PARIS (Reuters) – Chinese state carmaker GAC is exploring manufacturing electric vehicles in Europe to avoid EU tariffs, the CEO of its international business told Reuters on Sunday, joining a growing list of Chinese companies planning local production.
The company is among China's largest automakers and aims to reach 500,000 overseas sales by 2030. It does not yet sell electric vehicles in Europe, but will launch an electric SUV tailored to the European market at the Paris Motor Show, which starts on Monday.
GAC still saw Europe as an important market that was “relatively open” despite the European Commission's moves to impose tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, Wei Heigang said, speaking in Paris ahead of the show.
“The tariff issue definitely has an impact on us. However, all of this can be overcome in the long run… I'm sure there will be a way to resolve everything,” he said.
“Local production would be one of the ways to solve this,” he added. “We are very actively exploring this possibility.”
Talks were at a very early stage and the company was still considering whether to build a new plant or share (or take over) an existing one, according to Wei.
The compact SUV on display in Paris, a vehicle with a range of 520 kilometers called “Aion V”, should be launched in some European markets in mid-2025, with a price of less than 40,000 euros ($43,748), although the final price has not yet been announced. has been set. said the GAC.
Following that launch, GAC's next vehicle to go on sale in Europe will be a small electric hatchback, launching in late 2025.
(1 dollar = 0.9143 euros)
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