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The potential for differentiated vehicle segment tariffs

Nature Energy volume 10, pages 1042–1044 (2025)Cite this article

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Globally, electric vehicles (EV) are facing rising tariffs, with markets such as those of the EU and US imposing significant tariffs on EV imports, alongside countries like Turkey, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, which are also introducing higher trade barriers. While tariffs on EVs are seen to help shield local auto industries and jobs, they may also risk limiting continued access to affordable EV imports. This is particularly relevant given slowed growth in several EV markets1,2,3.

Despite the complexities of tariff setting, we argue that there is huge potential for nuance that may help reduce some of the associated risks, through recognizing the complexity of EV products themselves, and in turn, tailoring tariffs according to vehicle segment.

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References

  1. Global electric vehicle sales. MarkLines https://www.marklines.com (2025).

  2. New car registrations: +0.8% in 2024; battery-electric 13.6% market share. European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) (21 January 2025).

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Acknowledgements

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72122010, 72088101), National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFC1908501), supported by the Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation (CNEST) Program led by Tsinghua University, and International Joint Mission on Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Ming Liu, Han Hao, Xiaobo Qu & Fuquan Zhao

  2. Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Ming Liu & David Reiner

  3. Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Center for Resources Energy and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Ming Liu & Han Hao

  4. Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

    Xin Sun & Klaus Hubacek

  5. School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Yong Geng

  6. Global Development Policy Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Jiaqi Lu

  7. Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, lthaca, NY, USA

    Fengqi You

Authors
  1. Ming Liu
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  2. Han Hao
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  3. Xin Sun
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  4. Yong Geng
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  7. Xiaobo Qu
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  8. Jiaqi Lu
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  9. Fengqi You
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  10. Fuquan Zhao
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Contributions

M.L. and H.H. conceived the research idea and wrote the original draft (with input from X.S., Y.G., J.L., F.Y., and F.Z.). X.S., D.R., K.H., and X.Q. reviewed and edited the subsequent draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Han Hao.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Liu, M., Hao, H., Sun, X. et al. The potential for differentiated vehicle segment tariffs. Nat Energy 10, 1042–1044 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01798-6

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