Ola Källenius told CGTN he hopes political leaders can make an agreement to reduce tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and open up markets.
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00:00It is very difficult to foresee what the results will be of negotiations in all directions
00:06between the US and the EU, EU and China.
00:10What we are saying as a strong global automotive industry and the European automobile companies
00:17are the true global champions with a footprint in all regions.
00:20We're invested in the United States, we're of course invested in our home market in Europe,
00:24but we're also deeply invested in China.
00:28Our wish towards policymakers is to take a step back and look at what has made us successful,
00:33what has created jobs, created growth, created tax revenue.
00:38Much of that has happened in the last 30 years with opening up markets, so let's not forget
00:44about that.
00:46Make the playing field level, no question, and where there are issues to be addressed,
00:51that's legitimate, but let's not forget what the recipe for success was.
00:56The CEO of VW, Seat Brand, said this month that any additional tariffs on China-made
01:02EVs are going to cause collateral damage to European companies and to European jobs.
01:07What's your take?
01:10The Chinese supply network, or rather the global supply network, is so interconnected
01:17that building a wall in any one direction can create disruption and unwanted side effects.
01:27So what we need to do is to look at the supply chains, of course make sure that the playing
01:31field is level, I don't think anybody's arguing with that, but be thoughtful when we craft
01:37trade policy.
01:38And of course this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the EU and China.
01:47We've been talking to China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, what's the outlook then for European
01:52car makers in China?
01:56The Chinese car market I think probably is the most competitive car market in the world
02:01now.
02:02One of the reasons is so many new entrants, it's like a hundred companies plus that is
02:06vying for this market and also vying for the new EV market.
02:11We have every opportunity to partake in that competition and I think the recipe for success
02:17if you want to be one of the winners in that game, and that is what we're doing at Mercedes-Benz,
02:23is you need to double down on what the Chinese customer is looking for.
02:27So if you have adjustments to be made to your products to better cater for the Chinese customers,
02:32do that.
02:33Do it on location so you can quickly react to what the market needs.
02:37For instance in the digital space, we have built up a significant R&D team in China for
02:42China to be able to react to the market, but also take advantage of the cost structure
02:47that you have in China.
02:50There is nothing impeding us from doing that, so in my meeting with Minister Wang we talked
02:56about that.
02:58We said very clearly our intent to increase our investments in China, but also to say
03:04to him and his European counterparts, you're in a trade dispute right now, it was started
03:09by the EU, see if you can find common ground.