More Europeans Considering Chinese Vehicles Than American Ones, Study Shows
With IAA Mobility a.k.a. the Munich Motor Show in full swing and Chinese electric vehicles taking up plenty of floor space, a new study from research firm Escalent reveals that European consumers are more likely to consider products from China than those from the U.S., regardless of size.
As reported by InsideEVs, the study was conducted this summer in five European countries including the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy. It found that 47% of buyers would consider a Chinese-made vehicle, but the proportion drops to 44% in the case of an American-made vehicle.
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This is a major shift from last year when European interest in Chinese vehicles was only 31%, compared to 51% for vehicles from Uncle Sam's land.
According to Escalent, trust in Chinese car companies has increased from 12% to 19% in 2025, while trust in American products has decreased from 31% to 24%. Economic tensions between Europe and the U.S. combined with their geopolitical differences have likely contributed to this situation.
The study also shows that 72% of Europeans believe that Chinese vehicles should be affordable or at least cost less than their current ones. However, this is not really the case due to import tariffs and because several Chinese brands are trying to penetrate the European market with high-end, high-price models.
Meanwhile in Canada…
According to a fresh poll conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News, 62% of Canadians support or somewhat support eliminating the 100% tariff on all Chinese-made electric vehicles, in the hope that China will remove tariffs on Canadian crops like canola.
Conversely, only 25% of respondents oppose or somewhat oppose the move.
The 100% surtax came into effect on October 1, 2024 to protect the Canadian auto industry from unfair trade practices by China. Since then, however, the policies of the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump have significantly altered the game. The same goes for the suspension of the federal rebate on zero-emission vehicle purchases (and the phaseout of those in Quebec), which has many consumers demanding cheaper options, as we learned from another survey.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has announced that a tariff review is underway as new talks between Ottawa and Beijing take place. The results are due by October 1.
