Peter Vosper: Will Donald Trump influence the European car market?

​​Donald Trump is threatening to introduce big tariffs on European Union (EU) car-manufactured imports because Europeans do not buy more American vehicles.

Why not? The main two reasons are size and economy. In Europe we have much higher fuel prices than the Americans, so we prefer smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, while they generally prefer larger vehicles. Mr Engellan, who works for Swedish investment bank Handlesbanken, also highlights petrol prices being substantially cheaper in the US. “They pay per gallon what we pay per litre,” he says, and there are 3.8 litres to one US gallon.

In 2022, just under 700,000 new EU-made cars were exported to the US, worth around £30 billion, while only 116,000 new US cars, worth less than £5 billion, came into the EU.

Mr Trump is concerned because the terms of trade are “not really equal,” says Mr Engellan, pointing out the EU’s 10% tariff on cars imported from the U.S. far exceeds the 2.5% tariff the U.S. currently charges on cars imported from the EU. Mr Trump may have some difficulty equating the Tesla situation controlled by his new right-hand man, Mr Musk, as more than half of all Tesla cars are manufactured in China with a third destined for export.

The Tesla Model Y is still the best-selling electric car in the EU but is in fourth place in the overall rankings behind three combustion engine cars. The latest Model 3 is produced in its Shanghai plant, and ironically, Tesla is taking the EU to court over tariffs on electric vehicles made in China.

On the home front, there is good news for vehicle owners. This week the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament, which states electronic devices used by criminals to steal cars are to be banned under new laws in England and Wales.

More than 700,000 (yes, that is seven hundred thousand!) vehicles were broken into last year, often with the help of high-tech electronic devices, including so-called signal jammers, which are thought to play a part in four out of ten vehicle thefts nationwide. Until now, police could only bring a prosecution if they could prove a device had been used to commit a specific offence, but under new laws in the Crime and Policing Bill, the onus will be on someone with a device to show they had it for a legitimate purpose. Making or selling a signal jammer could lead to up to 5 years in jail or an unlimited fine.

Motoring groups say car manufacturers must also step up efforts to make vehicles more secure.

Lead for vehicle crime, Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Simms, said the possession, manufacture, sale, and supply of signal jammers had provided an “easily accessible tool for criminals…for far too long.” She added, “These devices have no legitimate purpose, apart from assisting in criminal activity, and reducing their availability will support policing and industry in preventing vehicle theft, which is damaging to individuals and businesses.”