Chinese carmakers shipped far more hybrid vehicles to Europe in the third quarter than a year earlier, German technology outlet heise reported on November 11. Analysts at US investment research firm Bernstein attributed the increase to carmakers front-loading shipments before the EU restricts imports.
Bernstein data show China exported 2.73 million passenger cars in the third quarter, up 72% year on year, with plug-in hybrids up 172% and battery-electric cars up 135%. Chinese customs data show nearly 100,000 hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars were exported to the EU in September, up 204.2% year on year and 18.9% month on month, while January-September exports reached about 670,000 units, almost double the 356,000 shipped in all of 2025.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament that Chinese hybrids entering the EU would be capped at 350,000 units in the first year, rising 6% a year over four years, and she expects Chinese exports to the bloc to fall by about 45%. The cap has not yet been formally approved; the Commission opened a safeguard investigation on October 30 and plans provisional measures in early December. The quota is based on where vehicles are built rather than on brand, so Chinese brands producing inside the EU are not affected.