Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume says imposing tariffs on Chinese cars in Europe would stifle competition and could risk retaliatory action in China. Speaking at the company's annual press conference, he gave his view that making it more difficult for Chinese companies to sell cars in Europe would ultimately threaten the ability of European companies to compete at a global level.
"Duties and taxes should be reasonable and balanced. I want to be very clear about this: we're not in favour of protectionism. We are for an equal balance among different trading regions of the world." Blume's comments echo those of his counterpart at Mercedes-Benz, Ola Källenius, who earlier this week questioned the EU's decision to investigate whether Chinese car companies are competing fairly in Europe.