{"text":[[{"start":10.64,"text":"The EU’s deal with Beijing to restrict hybrid vehicle exports will offer only “temporary” protection, as Chinese rivals push ahead with their ambitions to expand sales across the continent, western car executives have warned."}],[{"start":23.894,"text":"The bloc recently reached “an understanding” that would restrain China’s hybrid car exports to Europe, expanding existing EV tariffs to slow the growth of plug-in hybrids by Chinese manufacturers."}],[{"start":35.496,"text":"The European car industry has welcomed the deal as “a first step” to create a fairer playing field. However, some executives have expressed caution that Chinese companies may seek other options to minimise the tariff impact."}],[{"start":48.32,"text":"Several Chinese carmakers also said they may consider exporting hybrids from factories outside China to the EU even as they accelerate plans to localise production."}],[{"start":58.88,"text":"“These measures are usually partial [and] they come late, which means that your best defence is what you offer to customers,” Xavier Martinet, the European boss of Hyundai Motor, said on the sidelines of the Paris Motor Show. “Regulation will only protect you temporarily.”"}],[{"start":75.36,"text":"Stella Li, BYD’s top international executive, said the Chinese group was on track to start manufacturing its vehicles at its new plant in Hungary this year. “It doesn’t matter what will happen [on the regulatory front],” she said. “BYD is on our own path to invest heavily in Europe.”"}],[{"start":89.04,"text":"Zhao Fei, president of Changan Automobile, said the state-owned carmaker was in discussions with several partners in Europe to locally produce its first vehicle by the middle of next year. Longer term, the group will aim to produce 180,000 units in Europe by 2028 and almost double that number within two years."}],[{"start":108.021,"text":"As it shifts to local production, Zhao said Changan would review its production facilities globally for options to address the hybrid restrictions."}],[{"start":115.68,"text":"Two EU officials said China would accept an agreed quota of 350,000 vehicles in 2027 under the measure, which could come as early as December."}],[{"start":123.52,"text":"The number, which is down from an expected 800,000 this year, will increase by 6 per cent a year for the following three years, they added. The officials said the deal would roughly halve Chinese market share to about 6 per cent."}],[{"start":137.871,"text":"In 2027, the deal would reduce imports by between 500,000 and 700,000 vehicles, according to a third EU official."}],[{"start":146.203,"text":"Because safeguards have to apply to all imports, other countries would receive a quota in line with 2026 imports, increasing by up to 6 per cent annually from 2028 to 2030."}],[{"start":157.648,"text":"Chinese brands manufacturing vehicles in other countries would fall under that country’s quota, the officials said, as long as they “genuinely originate there”."}],[{"start":167.04,"text":"“We will always be able to look at circumvention questions for what are true Chinese-origin parts, regardless of the brand and the manufacturer,” one said."}],[{"start":178.04,"text":"Marc Vanheukelen, a former EU ambassador to the WTO now at consultancy Rud Pedersen, said premium European marques would suffer the most."}],[{"start":186,"text":"China could copy Japan’s move in the 1980s and 1990s when they accepted voluntary export quotas but invested in new premium models to increase profits, he added."}],[{"start":196.4,"text":"“They are going to go upmarket — focus on values not volumes,” Vanheukelen said. “Lexus and Infiniti would never have existed without the voluntary export controls. It is good news for Volkswagen, but not for the BMWs of this world.”"}],[{"start":209.2,"text":"Erik Severinson, chief commercial officer of Geely-owned Volvo Cars, said Chinese carmakers were unlikely to skirt the restrictions since their longer-term strategy will inevitably be “to build where you sell”. “You can try to fool that system as much as you like but over time that’s the only strategy that would work,” he added."}],[{"start":228.24,"text":"Renault chief executive François Provost welcomed the contours of a deal with China, saying not having one at all was “unsustainable” for Europe, given how fast imports of Chinese hybrid cars had grown in two years."}],[{"start":240.157,"text":"He said he needed to see further details of the deal but added that Europe had to react."}],[{"start":248.4,"text":"“Rather than have a scenario that would have been lose-lose, with a new trade war, having a situation where this is organised in a reasonable way . . . seems the best solution to me,” Provost said."}],[{"start":260.48,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791871407_7018.mp3"}