China’s lower car tariffs mean more to BMW than Ford or Tesla

China’s move to reduce tariffs on imported cars to 15 per cent makes little difference to US carmakers.

Traditional Detroit brands such as Chevrolet collectively exported fewer than 100,000 vehicles to China last year. The 25 per cent tariff that carmakers faced for years led them to open plants with partners in the country to avoid import taxes altogether. And even holdouts like Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln and Tesla Inc. have plans to build cars there soon.

“I don’t think it changes much,” Kevin Tynan, an autos analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, said by phone. “The companies are already established in terms of manufacturing and dealer networks. And 15 per cent is still a significant tariff.”

Ford did the most exporting among US carmakers by shipping almost 74,000 cars to China last year, mostly for its premium brand Lincoln, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. But Toyota Motor and BMW both almost tripled Ford’s vehicle imports.

Ford still commended US and China government leaders for “pursuing positive results for both economies” in an emailed statement. And BMW said the lower tariffs send “a strong signal that China will continue to open up.”

China is the top export destination for the X3 through X6 sport utility vehicles the company builds in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW shipped almost three-quarters of the 371,000 vehicles assembled there last year to other countries.