“Tariffs on Chinese electric cars will not change anything”

Wojciech Drzewiecki, president of IBRM Samar, admitted in an interview with tvn24.pl that “the revolution on the automotive market is already underway and we have created it ourselves.” – This revolution is called China. Unfortunately, everything indicates that Chinese producers will play quite an important role in the development of the market and dictate the conditions, he said.

– In the case of China, the pace of implementation of new models and new innovations is much higher than in the case of European brands and, what's worse, the costs of implementing new models are lower. It's not only about subsidies that are directed from the government to Chinese producers, but also labor costs, Drzewiecki said.

He added that there was already a chance to win the race with Beijingand European producers slept through it.

When asked about the situation of our western neighbor in the context of planned layoffs and closure of factories in the automotive industry, he replied that “Germany also looks weak in this situation, because the competitiveness of German brands has decreased.”

– First of all, they slept through a good time when their position was actually strong. Secondly, the desire to make money and participate in the Chinese market cost them the need to provide technology, he said.

Drzewiecki explained that these activities accelerated the development of Chinese brands, which achieved a strong position on the market much faster than, for example, Japanese producers.

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In the conversation, the president of IBRM Samar pointed out that the Chinese in Europe, and especially on the Polish market, they plan to expand based on combustion and hybrid cars.

– Let us remember that Chinese producers look very rationally, adapting their offer to the market. Where combustion vehicles are more popular, they sell combustion engines, while in other countries they sell electric cars, he said.

Drzewiecki recalled that the first entry of companies from the Middle Kingdom into the European market ended in failure because the product offered was weak, lacked service, and durability left much to be desired. – However, today we are talking about cars whose quality does not differ from European ones. Although it is difficult for us to say anything about durability, because these brands have only recently appeared in our country, he noted.

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According to Drzewiecki, the direction Europe has taken towards electric cars is the wrong direction. – Tariffs on electric cars will not change anything or they will change only slightly. This is because Chinese brands focus on hybrids and possibly combustion cars – he explained.

– The European Commission's decision will be met with retaliation. We already know in which direction this is going. The EC thought it would force producers to transfer their investments to the European market with tariffs, he said. Meanwhile, “suggestions coming from the authorities in Beijing indicate the opposite phenomenon, i.e refraining from investing in the European market“.

– If we introduced tariffs on all vehicles imported from China, then we could say that we were protecting jobs and our European product. However, the actions that were taken were very delicate, the interlocutor said.

In an interview with tvn24.pl, Drzewiecki emphasized that the Polish market for the production of car components has so far developed “pretty well”. – We have supplied components to Ford and Mercedes, so we can say that we have a good base prepared for production – he explained.

He noted that despite the regulations planned by the EU, combustion cars will still be on the road for many years. He added that Polish producers should prepare now for the upcoming changes.

– The time we have today should be used to transform Polish industry and look more broadly at new directions. We should prepare for this and act as quickly as possible so that our industry, to put it rudely 'component industry', will be able to adapt to the new times, new conditions and supply components for electric cars – he said.

– We have little time left to go through the transformation process and adapt to new requirements. It's high time to do this, even though Poland is still developing based on classic cars – he added.

When asked about plans for a Polish electric car, he explained that it is “primarily a political project that has little chance of development without the involvement of the private sector.” – When it comes to Jizera, we would first have to develop a good image, and that takes time and money. These measures that have been implemented are huge from our point of view, but still small from the point of view of the product that is to debut on the market, he said.

IBRM Samar expert drew attention to the role of subsidies for electric cars. He explained that where they are implemented, the market accelerates and the technology implementation process is more efficient, while where it is abandoned, a slowdown is visible.

– Why Germany did they move away from subsidies? Not because they ran out of money, because the competition was relying too much on these funds. Tesla was developing, and German brands with offers aimed at other segments began to lose rapidly. In addition, there were Chinese cars, for which subsidies were also used, as they were available for all cars available on the market, he said.

He added that although Poland also lacks subsidies, the electric car market is constantly developing, although not without obstacles. One of the main problems remains infrastructure, and more precisely, access to chargers, especially in large housing estates.