The hostile imposition of tariffs would usually mean a slump in the targeted company’s shares. Not for BYD. The prospect of steep European tariffs on electric car imports from China had the opposite effect on the country’s biggest maker of electric vehicles. Its HK-listed shares jumped as much as 9 per cent on Thursday.
The EU will impose additional tariffs on EVs shipped from China as of next month, taking levies to as much as 48 per cent. For BYD, its company-specific rise means the new EU tariff will be 27.4 per cent — compared with the existing 10 per cent tariff. For local rival Geely, it will be 30 per cent. Shares in Geely and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology also rose.
This positive market reaction was partly down to the oddity that BYD, the biggest threat in the European market, was hit with the lowest additional tariff among the companies named. The extra levy came in around half the upper end of analysts’ estimates.