Article · Geopolitics · Money and markets
China refused to curb its hybrid car exports to the EU. Brussels is now weighing a unilateral measure to cap their imports
On 8-9 October 2026 EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is negotiating in Beijing with Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao. On 7 October the Financial Times, citing two diplomats, reported that China had rejected an EU request to voluntarily limit hybrid car exports, so the Commission is weighing a unilateral measure to cap hybrid imports. According to Eurostat, the EU's goods deficit with China was €359.8 billion in 2025. China's commerce ministry promises a "resolute response" to any restrictions. Whether the talks produced anything should be clear by the European Council of 15-16 October 2026.
Europe buys roughly a billion euros a day more from China than it sells there, and the first thing Brussels wants to limit is the cheap Chinese hybrid car.
This matters to anyone in the EU thinking about buying a new car. If the EU imposes a hybrid quota, cars above it get more expensive through extra tariffs. Under the plan the Financial Times describes, as relayed by Just Auto (single source, Just Auto), the same quota would also apply to cars from Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, not just China.