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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Lisa O’Carroll

Alarm bells sound in Brussels as EU sales of Chinese hybrid cars rocket

Rows of white, purple, and blue BYD electric vehicles parked closely together in a compound
Chinese-made BYD passenger battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles await distribution at the docks. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Sales of Chinese hybrid cars have rocketed in the EU in the past four and a half years, data shows, underlining growing concerns in Brussels over the future of the European car industry.

In 2022, just 659 Chinese-made fully hybrid cars (vehicles in which the petrol or diesel engine charge the motor and battery) were sold in the EU. However, after Brussels imposed anti-subsidy tariffs on fully electric cars from China in 2024, sales of hybrids have shot up to 160,662 in the first seven months of this year.

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