EU sees surge in Chinese hybrids
Alarm bells sound in Brussels as EU sales of Chinese hybrid cars rocket
Thursday, 24 September 2026
Warm-up
- Which car types are growing in your country now?
- What makes you choose one car brand over another?
- Should governments guide people’s car choices? How?
Vocabulary
- tariff
- A tax on goods when they enter a country.
- quota
- A fixed limit on how much of something can be imported.
- safeguard
- A protective measure used to prevent harm to an industry.
- deficit
- When a country buys more from abroad than it sells, creating a gap.
- commissioner
- A senior official in a government or international body.
- assessment
- A careful study to judge effects or importance.
- brand
- A product name that identifies a company’s goods.
- voluntary
- Done by choice, not because of a rule or law.
Reading
Sales of Chinese hybrid cars have surged in the EU over four and a half years, alarming officials in Brussels. After the EU imposed anti-subsidy tariffs on fully electric cars from China in 2024, sales of Chinese-made full hybrids jumped from 659 in 2022 to 160,662 in the first seven months of this year. Plug-in hybrids rose from 56,706 in 2022 to 217,764 between January and July.
Brussels has asked China to voluntarily reduce hybrid exports or face safeguards, likely quotas. Germany’s car industry group, the VDA, said it is open to tariffs on Chinese hybrids and urged an assessment by the European Commission. According to ACEA, hybrids now make up almost 37% of the market, while electric cars are just over 21%.
Chinese manufacturers are gaining ground: BYD, Chery and Leapmotor show triple-digit growth. Geely remains the most popular Chinese brand, selling 205,000 cars in the first eight months, while BYD sold 177,000. The EU’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, will meet China’s Wang Wentao in October amid a €1.18bn-a-day trade deficit, as both sides seek a truce.
Comprehension
- What EU action in 2024 preceded the jump in hybrid sales?
- How many Chinese full hybrids were sold in Jan–Jul this year?
- What market share do hybrids have, according to ACEA?
- Which Chinese brand is currently the most popular in the EU?
- What might happen if China does not reduce hybrid exports?
Grammar focus
Future perfect continuous
Use will have been + verb-ing to show how long an action will be happening up to a future time point. It emphasises duration before that time. (Examples constructed.)
- Companies will have been selling hybrids for months by October.
- EU imports will have been rising steadily by then.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with the future perfect continuous form (will have been + -ing).
- By then manufacturers (produce) ___ hybrids for months.
- By next year dealers (sell) ___ Chinese hybrids steadily.
- By October imports (rise) ___ because of tariff shifts.
- By then brands like BYD (gain) ___ market share.
- By the end of the year EU sales (surge) ___ again.
Discussion
- Should the EU add tariffs to imported hybrids? Why or why not?
- How could European brands compete without new trade barriers?
- What are the risks and benefits of quotas on car imports?
- Is a trade truce with China likely soon? Explain.
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