China's Nio says commitment to Europe EV market 'unwavering' despite tariff increase

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio strongly opposes the European Union's use of increased tariffs as a strategy to obstruct the normal global electric vehicle trade but its commitment to Europe's EV market is unwavering, it said on Wednesday.

Nio "will continue to serve our users and explore new opportunities within Europe despite protectionism", it said in a statement.

The EU has decided to apply additional duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese electric vehicles from July.

Nio, which is among what the EU identifies as cooperating companies that would be subject to a 21% additional duty rate, said it will closely monitor the situation and make decisions that align with the best interests of its business.

"As the ongoing investigation has yet to reach a conclusion, we remain hopeful for a solution," it said.

"The EU's provisional tariffs come basically within our expectations, which won't have much of an impact on the majority of Chinese firms," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.

Those exporting China-made EVs including Tesla, Geely and BYD still have huge potential for development in Europe in the future, he said.

Brussels said it would set tariffs of 17.4% for BYD and 20% for Geely, on top of the existing EU tariff of 10%.

Western producers such as Tesla and BMW that export cars from China to Europe were deemed cooperating companies.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Kim Miyoung, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)