China’s hybrid car exports to EU surge by more than 200% as import cap looms

China’s hybrid car exports to the European Union tripled in September from a year earlier, with shipments expected to remain elevated before an import cap agreed during recent trade talks takes effect.

The country shipped nearly 100,000 hybrid cars to the bloc last month, up 18.9 per cent from August and 204.2 per cent from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday.

The surge outpaced a 142.7 per cent year-on-year rise in China’s total exports of passenger cars to the EU. Analysts said the rapid growth likely reflected carmakers front-loading vehicles ahead of high-level negotiations held in Beijing in early October.

“Dealerships may have sought to get as many purchases in as possible before potential quotas or tariffs ahead of trade talks,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING.