Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that Chinese automakers will “crush” their global rivals if they are not slapped with trade restrictions, reports Reuters.
In the fourth quarter, China’s BYD overtook Tesla as the largest manufacturer of electric cars despite mainly selling its cars in its home country, and now the company is investing in growing in the global market.
Recently, for example, they have started to acquire their own ships in order to more efficiently export their cars to Europe.
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Praise competitors from China
BYD offers, among other things, lower prices and a more varied range of electric cars than its more established competitors.
According to Musk, the Chinese automakers were “most competitive” at the end of the year.
– They will have significant success outside of China, depending on what kind of tariffs and trade barriers are established, Musk said.
The Tesla CEO believes that the Chinese car manufacturers will crush most other car manufacturers if no trade restrictions are put in place.
– They are extremely good, he added.
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Tariffs underway in the EU
In Europe, some form of tariffs may be about to be implemented.
Earlier in January, news broke that the European Commission has begun an investigation into Chinese car manufacturers, to investigate whether they should be hit with trade tariffs.
One must, among other things, investigate whether the Chinese car brands are unfairly favored in the competition thanks to government subsidies.
During the review, Chinese car manufacturers such as SAIC, BYD and Geely will be looked at more closely.
However, European manufacturers with production in China, such as Renault, BMW and Tesla, are not covered by the review.
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