Chinese hybrids slipped through a gap in Europe’s tariff wall and now fill a growing share of showrooms. Brussels is losing patience. A day before crunch talks in Beijing, it is preparing to cap the flow itself if China will not.

Every fourth hybrid sold in Europe now comes from a Chinese factory, often at a lower price than its European rival. The European Commission wants to slow that trend. It is preparing so-called safeguard measures to limit those imports, Bloomberg reported on 7 October. Imports of Chinese electric cars, by contrast, have grown more slowly. Asked about the report on Wednesday, a Commission spokesperson would not say whether hybrids would come up in Beijing.

The move would mark a change in tone. In September, Brussels asked Beijing to cap hybrid exports voluntarily. The target was a market share of about 15 per cent. China refused. Safeguards work as an emergency brake under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. They allow a country to curb imports when a sudden surge seriously harms its own producers. Such measures normally apply to imports from every country, so other exporters could be caught too.

Loophole in the tariff wall

The surge has a simple cause. In October 2024, the EU imposed anti-subsidy duties on Chinese electric cars. Together with the standard import tariff, they reach just over 45 per cent. Hybrids escaped the new duties and pay only the basic 10 per cent.

Chinese carmakers adjusted fast. Monthly hybrid imports from China rose from 3,800 vehicles in October 2024 to 50,000 in July 2026. Average prices fell at the same time. European carmakers already struggle with high costs and US tariffs. The cheap hybrids add one more problem.

An EU official told the Financial Times in September that Brussels was ready to act alone. “If they will not limit their exports to our market then we will. This is about stopping deindustrialisation,” the official said.

Beijing rejected the idea within a day. “These so-called voluntary export restrictions seriously violate WTO rules and run counter to the laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition. China firmly opposes this,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said on 18 September. Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun added a warning the same day. “We will closely follow the EU’s moves and do what is necessary to protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of our businesses,” he said.

Deadline arrives in Beijing

Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will be in Beijing on 8–9 October, a Commission spokesperson confirmed. He will hold the second round of EU–China trade and investment consultations with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Brussels set October as the deadline for tangible results. The EU’s trade deficit with China reached nearly €360bn last year, roughly €1bn a day. In her State of the Union speech on 16 September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a tipping point.

This trend is not sustainable. The status quo is not an option. — Maroš Šefčovič, EU Trade Commissioner

Mr Šefčovič set the tone after hosting Mr Wang in Brussels on 29 June. “The gap is widening. China’s exports to the EU keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking,” he told reporters. “This trend is not sustainable. The status quo is not an option.”

Pressure is also building inside the EU. On 5 October, France and Germany urged the EU to adopt new powers to hit back quickly at countries that harm its economy. Their proposal does not name China, but Beijing is the likely target. The Commission called their letter a valuable contribution that aligns well with its own work. For Germany, long cautious because its carmakers depend on the Chinese market, this marks a clear shift. EU leaders will discuss the outcome of the Beijing talks at the European Council summit in Brussels on 15–16 October.