SAIC Motor Blames Impending EU Duties for Slumping Sales

Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corp. said trade actions have affected sales this year as the European Union prepares to hit Chinese electric-vehicle makers with import tariffs.

SAIC’s group sales fell by 37% in July while exports declined 16%, according to the company’s website Wednesday. In a statement posted to Wechat, SAIC blamed “pressures from the EU, US and others” for the fall. Brussels has threatened to impose a 36.3% import tariff on EVs from SAIC, the highest level among the Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers that were sampled by the EU. The US meanwhile has quadrupled import taxes on Chinese EVs to more than 100%.