The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned the price of electric vehicles imported from the European Union will jump by £3,400 in January because of post-Brexit trade rules.
SMMT has called on Britain and the EU to postpone the implementation of tougher rules of origin requirements on batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) for three years.
News of additional costs due to the fallout from Brexit would be worse news for EV car manufacturers.
Tariffs of 10 percent are due to be imposed on electric cars coming into the UK from the EU—or vice versa— from January 1, if 45 percent or more of their value does not originate in the importing country or bloc.
The tariffs would also add £3,600 to the cost of British-built EVs being exported to Europe.
Ironically, petrol and diesel cars are expected to be unaffected by the new tariffs.
SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes told a virtual global trade conference, “Our manufacturers have shown incredible resilience amid multiple challenges in recent years, but unnecessary, unworkable and ill-timed rules of origin will only serve to set back the recovery and disincentivise the very vehicles we want to sell.”
‘Common Sense Solution is 3-Year Delay’
“A three-year delay is a simple, common-sense solution which must be agreed urgently,” said Mr. Hawes.SMMT says manufacturers are struggling to cope as battery production within Europe has not increased as quickly as hoped.
Government Says it is Working on Solution With EU
A government spokesman told PA, “We need a joint UK-EU solution to avoid consumers facing tariffs on electric vehicles from 2024, which do not apply to petrol and diesel cars.”“We have raised this with the European Commission and industry and are ready to work with them to find a solution within the existing structure of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing,” he added.
The row comes as auto manufacturers are trying to boost the net zero credentials of their vehicles, sometimes by sleight of hand.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two television adverts for Nissan’s Qashqai hybrid model, *e-Power, for failing to make it clear the car still needed petrol.
The first ad, first broadcast in May, featured stylised footage of a car driving through a city at night with a voiceover which said, “Who said electrification can’t spark excitement when unplugged?”
The ad contained small text stating, “*e-Power comprises a 100 percent electric motor-driven system, powered by a lithium-ion battery and a petrol engine.”
A second ad featured the DC Comics superhero The Flash running around two Nissan cars and leaving a trail of sparks in his wake, with a voiceover which said: “Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail with e-Power. Get your own electrical superpower like The Flash.”
Four viewers complained about the ads and the ASA said viewers would understand the ads to mean the car used “e-Power,” a new, electric technology which did not require it to be plugged in in the same way as EVs.
