China auto giant SAIC Motor decries EU’s ‘illegal’ anti-subsidy probe, hints at challenge
- Brussels’ new tariffs on China’s EVs are grinding gears in its auto industry
A Chinese automaking behemoth facing a 37.6 per cent tariff on exports of electric cars to Europe is pushing back against what it sees as an “unfair and illegal” probe by European authorities into subsidies from Beijing, while hinting that Brussels’ ruling will face opposition.
Shanghai-based SAIC Motor, the largest of China’s “big four” state-owned carmakers, also said that the EU’s executive arm carried out an anti-subsidy probe “involving commercially sensitive information, such as a request to cooperate in providing battery-related chemical formulas”.
The comments were made in a WeChat post on Monday, after the company had said during a special EU hearing on Friday that the actions were “beyond the normal scope of investigation”.
SAIC said that the European Commission had “made errors” in identifying subsidies, such as by mistaking an auto-financing company under a foreign joint venture as an affiliate of SAIC.
The automaker said it reserved the “right to take further legal measures” in response to the commission’s preliminary decision and expects a final ruling in November, per the WeChat statement.
