Financial Times reports that trade restrictions may start a new trend of automakers assembling EVs overseas. They write:
Tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars are pushing carmakers to consider opening new plants in the US and the EU to avoid duties. But trade restrictions may also start a new trend of automakers assembling electric vehicles overseas — opening up new markets in the process.
Geely Auto plans to assemble cars in Vietnam, as it invests to expand production in the south-east Asian country. The Chinese carmaker will build a plant in Vietnam capable of producing 75,000 cars a year in a joint venture with Hanoi-based Tasco Joint Stock Company, it said on Tuesday.
There has been growing interest in using so-called knockdown kit assembly plants to make EVs for export as Chinese makers face stricter trade barriers on the country’s EVs. The move by Geely, which is China’s second-largest automaker by sales after BYD and owns Volvo Cars as well as stakes in Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz, should mean more local rivals should follow. […]
Shares of Geely Automobile Holdings are up 40 per cent from their August low, with BYD up a third this year despite looming tariffs. Shifting assembly out of China will not help completely avoid duties: in markets such as the US, a duty is also levied on imported components such as batteries and key metals. But it should mean a boost in terms of sales outside of China, especially in markets in which they set up these assembly plants.
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