ELECTRIFYING THE UK MINI SITE

[grober]

BMW investment secures future of Mini factories

BMW expected to invest £600m in preparing its Oxfordshire plant to build the next generation of electric cars.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[st13phil]

Some good news both locally and nationally.

The fly in the ointment remains the future EU tariffs that will effectively apply to every EV manufactured if its battery pack originates outside the EU or UK. Bearing in mind BMW's commitment to UK manufacture, they must be of the view that their lobbying to have that delayed or diminished is going to pay off.

 

[markjay]

Some good news both locally and nationally.

The fly in the ointment remains the future EU tariffs that will effectively apply to every EV manufactured if its battery pack originates outside the EU or UK. Bearing in mind BMW's commitment to UK manufacture, they must be of the view that their lobbying to have that delayed or diminished is going to pay off.

If I understand correctly, you are saying that while a BMW factory in Germany will only be paying tariffs (assuming that tariffs will apply) on the battery packs that it is importing from the Far East into the EU, an EV manufactured in the UK will incur a full tariff on the entire car's value when shipped from the UK to the EU because of its Far-East made battery pack?

If so, then there would be ways for the UK and EU to agree an arrangement to prevent that. But having said that, tariffs are usually applied in order to protect local manufacturers from 'flooding' by foreign manufacturers, and so until the EU develops a significant battery production capacity then I really don't see them taxing EV batteries (or any other EV parts that are not manufactured in significant quantities in the EU).

 

[markjay]

Found this:

"Under the EU-UK post-Brexit trade deal, electric vehicles will need to have 45% EU or UK content from 2024, with a 50-60% requirement for their battery cells and packs, or face British or EU import tariffs of 10%.
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) on Tuesday called for a three-year postponement of the rules, arguing that time was needed to build up Europe's battery capacity. For now, automakers rely on battery cells and materials imported from Asia."

EU electric vehicles risk 4.3 billion euro post-Brexit tariff cost, auto group says

Post-Brexit rules forcing European automakers to source more electric vehicle components from Britain or the EU could cost them up to 4.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) in tariffs and hit output, a leading industry body said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

The relevant point is that it is talking about "EU or UK content" which suggests that it will make no difference tax-wise whether the EV is manufactured/assembled in the EU or in the UK.

 

[st13phil]

The relevant point is that it is talking about "EU or UK content" which suggests that it will make no difference tax-wise whether the EV is manufactured/assembled in the EU or in the UK.

Correct, the tariff is bi-directional on the full vehicle cost if it doesn't meet defined country of origin proportions for trade across the EU / UK border, but doesn't (AFAIK) apply to the full vehicle value within each domestic market with tariffs being applied to the import of the battery pack being built into the vehicle instead.

Bearing in mind that around 80% of the Plant Oxford output is exported - I can't determine how much of that is to EU countries - it suggests that either BMW intends to focus their UK plants on exports to countries outside the EU where they won't attract EU tariffs or they believe their lobbying against those tariffs will bear fruit.

 

[grober]

Mini Cooper E (2023): erste Mitfahrt im neuen Elektro-Mini - AUTO BILD

2023 kommt endlich der neue Mini, gebaut wird er in China. Vollelektrisch, voller Spaß. AUTO BILD ist schon mal mitgefahren – und angetan.

www-autobild-de.translate.goog

I suspect this latest UK development may be down to global rather than European market politics?