N環球 
China and EU Reach Deal to Cut Chinese Hybrid Car Exports by Over Half
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič announced in Beijing a 'shared understanding' under which China will 'moderate' hybrid car exports to the EU, cutting imports of several million cars over four years; the two sides also reached understandings on rare-earth export licensing.
Why it matters
The EU's trade deficit with China costs the bloc more than €1 billion a day. This is the first tangible outcome after years of trade disputes between Beijing and Brussels, and it will directly reshape the landscape for Chinese carmakers expanding abroad.
Full report
On Friday (Oct. 9), EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič announced in Beijing, after two days of talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, that the two sides had reached a 'shared understanding' under which China would 'moderate' its exports of hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the EU — cutting imports of several million cars over four years. Šefčovič did not detail how the agreement would be implemented.
According to EU data, the bloc's trade deficit with China cost more than €1 billion (about $1.12 billion) a day last year. In the year to September, EU imports of plug-in hybrids surged 86% while prices fell 20%, with more than half of these vehicles now coming from China; in 2025, China accounted for 30% of EU plug-in hybrid import value. Shares of European carmakers broadly gained on the news.
EU leaders will discuss the outcome at their summit in Brussels next Thursday; Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, said similar arrangements should extend to other sectors. The two sides also reached understandings on improving EU products' access to Chinese markets and facilitating China's export licensing for rare earths and permanent magnets.
💬 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!