HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) said on Friday new U.S. tariffs on Chinese EVs are detrimental to achieving carbon neutrality and green energy transition.
Xpeng co-President Brian Gu said he hopes the United States can become more open, allowing global products to enter and compete in the U.S. market.
He was speaking in Hong Kong where Xpeng has teamed up with Malaysia's Sime Darby Motors to sell its electric sports utility vehicle, the G6, and flagship seven-seater, X9, as it expands beyond mainland China's overcrowded car market.
A cut-throat price war in China and slowing demand at home are hurting Chinese car makers, which are looking to cushion the blow by ramping up expansion overseas.
Their overseas expansion is overshadowed, however, by an anti-subsidy probe launched by the EU into EV imports from China, the world's largest car market, as well as U.S. tariff hikes announced earlier this week.
"What are the flexibility or room for margins that we can have in order to meet changes in tariffs in other regimes," Gu said, adding it that was still assessing the level of EU tariffs that would make the company shift production overseas.
XPeng already sells EVs in the Netherlands, Norway and Germany and has said it plans to enter other European markets including, Italy and the UK.
The company said earlier this week that it was entering the French market despite the looming tariffs.