EU to limit Chinese hybrid vehicle imports to 350,000 a year

NEW: The EU will cap Chinese hybrid vehicle imports at 350,000 cars a year, using WTO safeguard rules to halve China's market share to 3%, with the quota taking effect in December.

Brussels just capped Chinese hybrid imports at 350,000 cars a year.

The European Commission confirmed it today, and the mechanism matters. They're using WTO safeguard rules, which means no long anti-dumping investigation, the quota lands in December. Fast by Brussels standards, which is a sentence I don't write often.

And the numbers are stark. Chinese battery and plug-in hybrids were on track for roughly 800,000 sales this year, with exports to Europe tripling to 6.7 billion euros in just the first half. The cap halves China's market share from six percent to three. Anything over the quota doesn't get tariffed, it just sits at the docks, blocked in customs. A car park with a view of the sea.

The twist is that Beijing actually agreed to this, part of a four-year deal that also cuts Chinese duties on European footwear, olive oil and ice cream. Chinese cars built in Hungary or Spain are exempt, so the real message to Beijing is simple. If you want to sell here, build here.

This is Dave King, reporting for HIT.