Chinese car imports quadrupled in July from June as cuts to auto tariffs kicked in, Caixin reports.
A record 165,000 foreign vehicles entered Chinese ports in July, compared with just 45,000 a month before, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. June’s figure was particularly low, the administration added, as buyers waited for the tariff changes.
In late May announced that duties on 135 types of imported vehicles will drop from 25% to 15% in July, in an apparent concession to demands from countries like the US that China’s domestic auto industry was too protected.
However recent disputes between Beijing and Washington are likely to reverse much of the import growth. Levies were raised from 15% to 40% in early July on some US cars – a move that is set to extend to almost all American vehicles from August 23rd, sources told Caixin.