Chinese brands have doubled their EU market share in a year. Brussels says the trend is unsustainable. Now it is vowing a more robust response to Beijing as the bloc’s trade deficit with China hits a record €360bn.
The European Commission has pledged a tougher line on China. The bloc’s goods trade deficit with Beijing hit €360bn in 2025. That is up from €312bn the year before. High fuel prices linked to the conflict in Iran are driving European buyers towards electric vehicles.
As economic and security interests become ever more intertwined, both dimensions will require a more robust and coherent response.
— European Commission
“As economic and security interests become ever more intertwined, both dimensions will require a more robust and coherent response,” the Commission said. Bloomberg this week also reported that Europe has become the second-biggest global buyer of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs). In April, imports surged 36 per cent.
Chinese cars gain ground
The jump reflects a broader shift in the European market. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 20.6 per cent of EU sales in April. That is up sharply year-on-year, as high pump prices linked to the US–Israel war in Iran push buyers away from petrol and diesel.
Chinese brands have been the prime beneficiaries. They climbed to roughly 6 per cent of EU registrations in the first four months of 2026 from 3.2 per cent a year earlier, led by BYD, whose sales more than doubled.
In response, China accused the EU on Thursday of being selective in the trade data it made its claims from, while threatening “strong countermeasures” to any “Buy European” policy. A Commission proposal is not expected until the third quarter of this year.
