Nio is backing free trade and argues that tariffs should be avoided altogether, the company’s European vice president Hui Zhang said in an interview as Chinese automakers face mounting trade frictions in Europe.
“The EU has 27 member states and each country can decide for itself. In general, I believe sustainability and the energy economy are common goals for all EU countries, and the Chinese government is also strongly committed to them,” Zhang told German outlet Merkur.
“I support free trade and see no tariffs as the best tariffs. This way the economy benefits, jobs are created, and prosperity increases,” the executive added.
Nio‘s long-time executive and VP drew parallels with Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria’s Deputy Minister-President and State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy, who has also voiced support for open trade.
“I focus on Nio offering market-appropriate products in different segments,” Zhang stated.
“Like Minister Hubert Aiwanger, I support free trade and see no tariffs as the best tariffs. This way the economy benefits, jobs are created, and prosperity increases,” the VP added.
Nio expanded to Europe in 2021 via Norway, but has maintained a presence in Germany since 2015, when it opened its global design center in Munich under senior VP of design Kris Tomasson.
The company now has more than 250 suppliers across Europe and is further expanding in Europe with a new business model.
Sixteen of those 250 European suppliers are based in Bavaria alone.
German suppliers include Continental, Schaeffler, Webasto, BASF, Infineon, ZF and the Fraunhofer Institute.
“We work with suppliers of different sizes, from small firms to large corporations,” Hui Zhang added.
Over the next few months, sales will begin in Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, and many other European markets.
In mid-July, a group of representatives of Chinese automakers — including Nio, XPeng, and Xiaomi — took part in discussions between China and the European Union in Brussels.
The meetings were part of the Auto Working Group established in February by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU), which Zhang leads and which represents more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises across Europe.
According to the CCCEU, discussions covered US-EU trade, electric vehicle tariffs, green policies and the investment climate, with all sides “committed to dialogue.”
The EU imposed tariffs last year on Chinese EV imports after ruling that state subsidies distorted fair competition.
Duties were set at 17.4% for BYD, 20% for Geely, and 38.1% for SAIC, on top of the bloc’s standard 10% import tariff, bringing total levies for SAIC to more than 48%.
Geely owns Volvo Cars and Polestar (among several other brands), while SAIC controls MG, the best-selling Chinese auto brand in Europe.
China had previously proposed a minimum price of €30,000 for Chinese-made EVs sold in Europe, but the EU rejected the plan, insisting the issue went beyond pricing and was rooted in state support.
Trade talks were revived in April after US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs took effect.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao agreed to explore minimum price mechanisms as an alternative to tariffs.
To blunt the impact of tariffs, Chinese automakers have been accelerating plans for European production.
BYD has set its European headquarters in Hungary and is finalizing construction of an EV plant there.
