Chinese EVs hit with EU probe after massive surge of cheap electric vehicle imports
The European Union launched an investigation over Chinese EV subsidies as the global markets are “now flooded with cheaper electric cars.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed the probe Wednesday, claiming Chinese EV makers benefit from state subsidies.
The EU probe could lead to potential tariffs, which would likely have significant impacts on the market and Chinese EV makers.
“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper electric cars.” the EU Commission chief said in her annual speech to the European Parliament. “And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.”
The move comes as electric vehicle imports from China continue gaining momentum in the region.
China’s largest EV makers, like BYD, NIO, and XPeng, are launching models designed for the European market. And so far, it’s working.
New Energy Vehicle (NEV) exports from China rose 63.6% through the first seven months of the year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
The European expansion was evident at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, with Chinese EV makers doubling their presence compared to 2021. EV leaders, including BYD and SAIC’s MG, unveiled impressive all-electric models aimed at the EU market.
BYD showcased six EVs, including the SEAL electric sedan and SEAL U, designed for European customers. The BYD Seal starts at 45,000 euros (about $48,000) with up to 570 km (354 mi) range.
NIO also launched its ET5 Touring this summer, its first electric station wagon, designed to rival German automakers including Porsche and BMW.
EU probes Chinese EVs over state subsidies
With new models like the SEAL and ET5 Touring rolling out with competitive pricing and often better technology, mass-market automakers like Volkswagen and Stellantis are feeling the pressure.
According to Jato Dynamics (via Reuters), the average retail price of Chinese EVs in Germany was 29% lower than non-Chinese models, excluding incentives and discounts.
The EU is already moving toward a clear future. As part of its Green Deal, the EU approved a law banning the sale of new ICE passenger cars from 2035. The move has accelerated EV sales in the region, but there are concerns over China’s economic practices.
The probe comes as the EU looks to avoid repeating what happened with the solar industry when cheaper Chinese imports squeezed many manufacturers out of the market.
If the EU decides to slap tariffs on Chinese EVs, it would have broader impacts, including brands that build cars in China, such as Tesla, Volvo, Polestar, Renault, and BMW.
The Commission will have up to 13 months to decide to implement tariffs above the 10% standard rate.
Shares of Chinese EV makers, including NIO, Xpeng, and BYD, were down in Wednesday’s trading session following the news.
Electrek’s Take
Although the EU is looking to protect its auto industry from being overtaken by cheaper Chinese EVs, a tariff may have significant impacts on the market.
For one, automakers in Germany rely heavily on China to drive sales revenue. Volkswagen has generated nearly half of its revenue from China, but the automaker is losing out to domestic EV makers as the EV transition heats up.
BYD surpassed VW as China’s top-selling car brand for the first time earlier this year. Meanwhile, Volkswagen has already slashed prices in the region in a bid to even the playing field, but how long can this go on?
Europe’s largest automaker also recently made several partnerships in the region to advance its position, including a $700 million investment into XPeng.
The biggest issue facing the EU is that many of these Chinese EVs are built better with superior technology and designs. While many European automakers delayed the transition to electric, EV makers like BYD and NIO took advantage of it, accelerating development and production.
NIO’s CEO William Li warned about the possibility of “protectionist policies” in April due to their cost advantages.
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Tesla is being forced to remove 64 Superchargers at stations along the New Jersey Turnpike as the local authorities have decided to go with another provider.
Elon Musk claimed corruption without any evidence.
The New Jersey Turnpike is a system of controlled-access toll roads that consists of a 100-mile section of important New Jersey highways.
In 2020, Tesla signed an agreement with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA)and built 64 Supercharger stalls at 8 stations along the turnpike.
The agreement has now expired, and instead of renewing it, the authority decided to give an exclusive agreement to Applegreen, which already operates in all service areas on the turnpike.
Tesla issued a statement saying that it is disappointed with the situation, but that it has prepared for this by building new stations off the turnpike for the last few years:
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”) has chosen a sole third-party charging provider to serve the New Jersey Turnpike and is not allowing us to co-locate. As a result, NJTA requested 64 existing Supercharger stalls on the New Jersey Turnpike to not be renewed and be decommissioned. We have been preparing for 3 years for this potential outcome by building 116 stalls off the New Jersey Turnpike, ensuring no interruption for our customers. The map below outlines the existing replacement Superchargers, and Trip Planner will adjust automatically.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk went a step further and called it “corruption” without any evidence.
The automaker’s agreement with NJTA expired, and they decided to go with a sole provider. Applegreen will reportedly deploy chargers at all 21 turnpike service stops.
Here are Tesla’s replacement Superchargers off the turnpike:
Electrek’s Take
I don’t like the decision from the Turnpike authorities. More chargers are better than fewer chargers. However, I also don’t like Musk calling everything he doesn’t like fraud or corruption.
While I agree with Tesla that it is unreasonable to force them to remove the stations, it appears to be an oversight on Tesla’s part not to have included stipulations in their agreement to prevent such a scenario from happening in the first place.
Who signs a deal to deploy millions of dollars worth of charging equipment with only the right to operate them there for 5 years?
It looks like Tesla knew this was coming since it specifically built several new Supercharger stations off the turnpike to prepare for this.
On the other hand, I don’t like the Turnpike Authority using the term “universal charger” as if this is a positive for Applegreen. They are going to use CCS, and everyone is moving to NACS in North America.
Yes, for a while, only Tesla owners will have to use adapters, but that will soon change and the current NACS Supercharger will be even more useful.
At the end of the day, the stations are already there. Let them operate them.
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![E-quipment highlight: ZQUIP heavy equipment battery swap demo [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/case_zquip_MAIN.png?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
ZQUIP is working hard to bring more smart, efficient, modular power solutions to commercial job sites everywhere – and at the core of their vision for the future is battery-swap technology. You can see just how easy it is make that happen here.
MOOG Construction’s energy skunkworks ZQUIP made headlines last year by bringing the cordless power tool battery model to the world of industrial-grade heavy equipment.
“The 700V ZQUIP Energy Modules are at the core of this innovation, said Chris LaFleur, managing director for QUIP. “ZQUIP modules are interchangeable across any machine we convert regardless of size, type, or manufacturer, and will enable a level of serviceability, runtime, and value that is far greater than current battery solutions.”
At this year’s bauma equipment show in Munich, Germany, however, ZQUIP followed up that headline by making it even easier for job sites to make every kilowatt count by enabling them to switch from diesel power, to electric, and back again, on the same machine, on the job site.
Why you want that
Most machines on most sites sit idle most of the time, but converting all those machines to battery electric power means that megawatts of battery capacity are being wasted. By utilizing swappable batteries, job sites can do what technicians and contractors have been doing for years with power tools: quickly get the energy they need to the tool they need when they need it, without the need to have a dedicated battery for every tool.
If you need to be able to run the machine non-stop and don’t have a reliable way to recharge your batteries quickly enough, a 140 kW diesel generator is built into a package the same size and shape as the batteries. In fact, if you look closely at the CASE excavator below (on the right), the “battery” on the right is, in fact, a diesel Energy Module.
The demo video, below, shows a pair of CASE-based electric excavators – one wheeled, one tracked – operating on ZQUIP’s Energy Modules. It takes less than two minutes to remove one battery, and presumably about the same time to swap another one in, for a 5 (ish) minute swap.
Even if you call it ten, by eliminating the need to get the entire machine up and out for charging (or for service, if there’s an issue with the battery/controllers), the ZQUIP battery swap construction equipment solution seems like a good one.
ZQUIP HDEV battery swap
SOURCE | IMAGES: ZQUIP.
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Environment
Trump administration is convinced massive Alaska energy project will find investors despite steep cost
The Trump administration is confident that a massive liquified natural gas project in Alaska will find investors despite its enormous cost.
President Donald Trump has pushed Alaska LNG as a national priority since taking office. Alaska has already spent years trying to build an 800-mile pipeline from the North Slope above the Arctic Circle south to the Cook Inlet, where the gas would be cooled and shipped to U.S. allies in Asia.
But Alaska LNG has never gotten off the ground due to a stratospheric price tag of more than $40 billion. Trump has pushed Japan and South Korea in particular to invest in the project, threatening them with higher tariffs if they don’t offer trade deals that suit him.
“If you get the commercial offtakers for the gas, financing is pretty straightforward,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. “There [are] countries around the world looking to shrink their trade deficit with the United States, and of course, a very easy way to do that is to buy more American energy,” Wright said.
Energy analysts, however, are skeptical of the project. Alaska LNG “doesn’t have a clear cut commercial logic,” Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG research at Rapidan Energy, told CNBC in April.
“If it did, it would have had a lot more support than it has thus far, and this project has been on the planning board for literally decades,” Munton said.
Defense Department support
Wright said the project would be built in stages and initially serve domestic demand in Alaska, which faces declining natural gas supplies in the Cook Inlet. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Department of Defense is ready to support the project with its resources.
“They’re ready to sign on to take an offtake agreement from this pipeline to get gas to our super strategic, important bases across Alaska,” Burgum said of the Pentagon in a CNBC interview at Prudhoe Bay.
Alaska LNG, if completed, would deliver U.S. natural gas to Japan in about eight days, compared to about 24 days for U.S. Gulf Coast exports that pass through the congested Panama Canal, Burgum said. It would also avoid contested waters in the South China Sea that LNG exports from the Middle East pass through, the interior secretary said.
Wright said potential Asian investors have questions about the timeline and logistics of Alaska LNG. The pipeline could start delivering LNG to southern Alaska in 2028 or 2029, with exports to Asia beginning sometime in the early 2030s, Wright said.
Glenfarne Group, the project’s lead developer, told CNBC in April that a final investment decision is expected in the next six to 12 months on the leg of a proposed pipeline that runs from the North Slope to Anchorage. Glenfarne is a privately-held developer, owner and operator of energy infrastructure based in New York City and Houston.
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