Chinese EVs in Spain: Why Local Assembly Won't Automatically Mean a €5,000 Discount
A. Krivonosov
SAIC, Leapmotor and Geely are all eyeing Spanish factories to dodge EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. But the promised €5,000 discount doesn't add up the way it sounds.
Building a Chinese EV in Spain can genuinely shave a few thousand euros off its production cost, but the promise of an automatic €5,000 price cut is too simplistic. The EU charges extra tariffs on EVs imported from China — from 17% for BYD to 35.3% for SAIC.
The measures apply to pure electric vehicles and models with a petrol range extender, but not to regular plug-in hybrids like Omoda or Jaecoo SHS. European origin also affects Spain’s Auto+ program: for a passenger car, the maximum payout reaches €4,500, with the seller required to add at least €1,000 more.
That said, assembly within the EU alone only accounts for 15% of the maximum subsidy — that’s €675. Producing the battery pack in Europe adds another €450. All told, localization boosts the subsidy by no more than €1,125, not €5,000.
The largest project announced so far belongs to SAIC. In Galicia, the company plans to build a complex worth €200 million with a capacity of 120,000 EVs a year and 2,300 jobs created. Construction is set to start in 2027, with launch by the end of 2028, though port and administrative procedures still lie ahead — for now, this remains a project rather than a working plant.
Leapmotor’s plans are also often presented as settled, though they aren’t. Officially, Stellantis is only studying whether to launch the B10 in Zaragoza from 2026 and a new electric Opel from 2028. Building the Leapmotor model in Madrid and handing the Villaverde plant over to the LPMI joint venture both remain under negotiation — and 51% of that venture belongs to Stellantis, not the Chinese partner.
The Geely and Ford deal in Valencia hasn’t been confirmed either. Industry sources have reported on the purchase of the Body 3 shop and a possible run of Geely-platform cars, but a Ford spokesperson has said no final agreement exists.
Spanish assembly can lower the tariff burden, cut logistics costs and unlock access to extra subsidy money. But the final price depends on the depth of localization, labor costs, the battery, and the brand’s own decisions. So “€5,000 cheaper” is a possible economic effect for individual EVs — not a guaranteed discount for every buyer.
According to 32CARS.RU, Renault is also considering building compact EVs in Spain.
