Australia's Best-Selling PHEVs Halfway Through 2026
Oliver Blume said Chinese brands held 28.3% of Europe’s PHEV market after the first half, as Volkswagen pressed for faster EU tariffs.
- Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is urging the European Union to impose higher import tariffs on Chinese PHEVs, claiming the current market is unfair as Chinese brands expand their reach across Europe.
- Chinese brands captured 28.3% of the European PHEV market in the first half of 2026, pushing the Volkswagen Tiguan from 1st place to 4th as BYD Seal, BYD Atto, and Jaecoo overtook the German crossover.
- Automakers in China pivoted to PHEVs to bypass the 35% tariff applied to Chinese-built EVs, as these levies do not currently cover plug-in hybrid models, which face only a 10% import duty.
- Facing internal pressure, Blume stated "We have no time to lose" as Volkswagen proposed job cuts affecting 100,000 employees, double the 50,000 layoffs already approved.
- According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the European Union is considering additional tariffs on Chinese PHEVs to address rapid Chinese car sales growth, which reached nearly 686,000 deliveries last year.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The European Union has imposed special penalties on electric vehicles imported from China in order to compensate for the illegal aid they receive from the state.
Volkswagen wants tariff protection after Chinese brands grab 28% of Europe's PHEV market
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is demanding the European Union impose higher tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrids after the Tiguan PHEV dropped from Europe’s best-selling plug-in hybrid to fourth place in a single year. The BYD Seal U now leads the segment, followed by the BYD Atto 2 and the Jaecoo 7. All three are Chinese. […] This story continues at The Next Web
Volkswagen raises its voice and asks Europe to tax the hybrid plug-ins produced in China. After the duties introduced on the electric cars of Beijing, according to the German group it is time to extend the measures also to the models PHEV, become one of the main tools with which the Chinese manufacturers are gaining ground in the [...] The article Volkswagen, Blume: "They immediately need EU duties on the Chinese hybrid plug-ins" comes from The …
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume Clarifies He Did Not Call for Tariffs on Chinese PHEVs, Advocates Fair Competition and Local Production
On July 28, Volkswagen Group clarified media reports claiming that its CEO, Oliver Blume, had called on the European Union to impose additional tariffs on Chinese-made plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Volkswagen stated that Blume did not explicitly advocate for new tariffs; rather, during the company’s first-half 2026 earnings call, he emphasized the need for [...]
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