UK set to match EU’s 45% tariffs on Chinese EVs, The Times reports
The Times, via Reuters: Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is drawing up tariffs on Chinese electric cars. The government says none have been imposed yet. The driver: EU pressure and ‘Made in Europe’.
Britain is preparing to put tariffs on Chinese electric-vehicle imports at the European Union’s level of up to 45%, The Times reported, as carried overnight on October 4–5 by Reuters and Bloomberg. This is not a signed decision: it’s a plan being drawn up under EU pressure.
What’s reported
According to The Times, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is preparing a package of potential tariffs on Chinese car imports. The concern cited: Beijing “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles into Britain.
Ministers are said to be ready to match the EU’s levy of up to 45% on Chinese EVs, to avoid the fallout from “Made in Europe” proposals. Those rules could shut UK carmakers out of EU schemes and markets if London is seen as a back door for Chinese exports into the bloc.
Status: expected, not decided
A UK government spokesperson told Reuters that no tariffs have been imposed on Chinese EVs. “We continue to engage closely with industry so that our approach reflects the sector’s and UK’s national interests,” the spokesperson said by email.
Reuters said it could not immediately verify The Times report. So the story is alignment expected and options being prepared — not a public decision, and no tariffs in force yet.
Why it matters
The EU already applied double-digit duties on Chinese EVs from 2024, topping out at 45%. The UK has so far been an outlier. The Guardian notes Chinese brands (BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo and others) more than tripled their share of the UK new-car market in the first eight months of 2026, to about 12%.
At the same time, the EU remains the main export market for Britain’s car industry — about 58% of UK car exports in the first half of the year, versus ~4% to China, according to the SMMT as cited by the Guardian. That’s the bind: tariffs on Chinese EVs could invite retaliation against Jaguar Land Rover in China, but being dropped from “Made in Europe” would hit continental exports harder.
For buyers, a 45% tariff would raise prices on Chinese-built EVs sold in Britain. For continental Europe, the signal is that London may be moving closer to Brussels on the China EV file — if “expected” turns into law.
