00:00There was no sign of Stellantis at this year's London EV show, but the firm's announcement
00:05that it plans to shut its Vauxhall van factory in southern England cast a shadow over the
00:11event.
00:12Six months ago, the company, which owns the Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler and Fiat brands,
00:17urged the UK government to do more to boost demand to help it comply with rules requiring
00:22automakers to sell more EVs.
00:25But now it's joining Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan and GM in cutting jobs amid softening sales
00:31of electric vehicles, which consumers see as too expensive.
00:36On Wednesday, the managing director of Ford UK called on the government to give car buyers
00:40more incentives to purchase electric vehicles, saying the current mandate to end sales of
00:46new combustion vehicles by 2030 just doesn't work.
00:50Meanwhile, China continues to negotiate with the EU after the world's largest trading
00:55block increased tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as much as 45.3% for at least
01:02five years.
01:04This three-day event is about more than just sales for the companies exhibiting here.
01:08It's a chance to connect and exchange views on the big issues, and right now it doesn't
01:14get much bigger than EU trade tariffs on China.
01:17It affected all the industrial business because it means it will be more expensive for the
01:25European guys to buy the EV car, the imported car from China.
01:30I think there's a lot of uncertainty in the market at the moment.
01:34Tariffs are fluctuating, legislation is changing.
01:38So I think the thing that we need as manufacturers and designers and developers of electric vehicles
01:45is we need a bit of certainty.
01:47As you can imagine, this tariff, if in place, will definitely impact the demand for EV vehicles,
01:53which in turn will, we believe, impact the demand for EV charging supplies as well.
01:58I'll be honest with you, I haven't really seen a major impact in the marketplace at
02:02the moment.
02:03And also with my number of connections and people I speak to on a daily basis, I can't
02:08see it reaffecting it.
02:09As negotiations between China and the European Union continue, there are fears among some
02:14European automakers that the tariffs could cause disruption to supply chains and lead
02:20to higher costs for consumers.
02:21If that happens, it could pile extra pressure on an industry which is already struggling.
02:27Ray Addison, CGTN, London.
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