Xiaomi and Hongqi's 20.7% Countervailing Duty: A Tech Challenger and a State Flagship, Same Rate - EV Hub
Xiaomi and Hongqi both pay the EU's 20.7% countervailing duty, but the resemblance ends there. Full tariff-stack math, two worked examples, and the landed-cost spread across Xiaomi's 4 BEVs and Hongqi's 8 BEVs.
TL;DR
Xiaomi and Hongqi both pay the EU’s 20.7% countervailing duty — the “other cooperating companies” line on top of the 10% standard import duty, a 30.7% combined tariff before VAT. Neither was individually sampled in the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation.
They are an odd pairing. Xiaomi is a three-year-old tech challenger whose cheapest BEV, the $30,320 SU7, lands in Germany at $54,504 (+79.8%). Hongqi is China’s oldest luxury marque — the state limousine brand — whose range runs from the $12,650 E QM5 to the $83,070 E HS9. The E QM5 lands at $26,587 (+110%) because its low base price collides with the $6,600 fixed stack; the E HS9 lands at $137,848 (+66%), where the same 20.7% is the largest single dollar line.
Key statistics
- Countervailing duty for both: 20.7% (on top of 10% standard duty = 30.7% combined before VAT)
- Rate type: the “other cooperating companies” line — neither was individually sampled
- BYD: 17.0% · Geely/Zeekr: 18.8% · SAIC/MG: 35.3%
- In force since: 31 October 2024, for 5 years (EU Implementing Regulation 2024/2754)
- BEV count: Xiaomi 4 (SU7, YU7, YU7 GT, SU7 Ultra), Hongqi 8 (E QM5 through E HS9)
- Worked examples: Xiaomi SU7 $30,320 → $54,504 (+79.8%) · Hongqi EH7 $29,410 → $53,067 (+80.4%)
Why Xiaomi and Hongqi both pay 20.7% — and why the pairing is misleading
Under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754, individual rates went only to BYD (17.0%), Geely (18.8%), and SAIC (35.3%), plus Tesla’s Shanghai exports at 7.8%. Every other cooperating Chinese BEV exporter — including Xiaomi and Hongqi — was assigned the weighted-average 20.7%.
The regulatory treatment flattens a gulf. Xiaomi entered the EV market in 2021 and ships a tightly focused four-model BEV lineup. Hongqi, founded in 1958 as China’s ceremonial state-car maker and now a FAW brand, spans a broad luxury and near-luxury range. For tariff purposes the two are indistinguishable: both cooperate, neither was sampled, both pay 20.7%.
The useful distinction is positioning. Xiaomi’s four BEVs cluster in the $30,000–$74,000 band. Hongqi spans $12,650 to $83,070, which means Hongqi’s own internal spread — from a +110% premium on the E QM5 to +66% on the E HS9 — is wider than the gap between the two brands.
The full tariff stack, worked example: Xiaomi SU7 → Germany
Here is the itemized math for a Xiaomi SU7 (base $30,320 ex-factory China) imported into Germany, using the same landed-cost methodology as the rest of the catalog:
| Cost item | Amount | How it’s calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Base price (CIF) | $30,320 | Xiaomi SU7, China MSRP |
| Standard import duty | $3,032 | 10% of CIF |
| Countervailing duty | $6,904 | 20.7% of (CIF + duty) |
| VAT | $7,649 | 19% of (CIF + duty + CVD) |
| RoRo freight | $2,000 | — |
| Customs clearance | $350 | — |
| Certification | $3,250 | Homologation |
| Registration | $500 | — |
| Inland transport | $500 | — |
| Total landed | $54,504 | +79.8% over base |
The countervailing duty ($6,904) is more than double the standard duty ($3,032) and is 22.8% of the base price on its own. The $6,600 fixed stack adds another 22 points of premium.
The Hongqi EH7 at $29,410 produces a nearly identical bill — CVD $6,697, VAT $7,419, total $53,067 (+80.4%) — because at this price point the two cars are tariff twins.
Model by model: the landed-cost spread
All 12 Xiaomi and Hongqi BEV models in the catalog, base vs. landed in Germany:
| Model | Brand | Base (China) | Landed (Germany) | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E QM5 | Hongqi | $12,650 | $26,587 | +110% |
| Tiangong 05 | Hongqi | $22,190 | $41,659 | +88% |
| EH5 | Hongqi | $22,510 | $42,165 | +87% |
| Tiangong 06 | Hongqi | $24,970 | $46,052 | +84% |
| E HS5 | Hongqi | $25,320 | $46,605 | +84% |
| EH7 | Hongqi | $29,410 | $53,067 | +80% |
| SU7 | Xiaomi | $30,320 | $54,504 | +80% |
| E HS7 | Hongqi | $30,410 | $54,647 | +80% |
| YU7 | Xiaomi | $35,700 | $63,005 | +77% |
| YU7 GT | Xiaomi | $54,150 | $92,155 | +70% |
| SU7 Ultra | Xiaomi | $73,600 | $122,885 | +67% |
| E HS9 | Hongqi | $83,070 | $137,848 | +66% |
The spread runs from +110% on the $12,650 E QM5 to +66% on the $83,070 E HS9. Xiaomi’s tight premium band (+67% to +80%) sits in the middle of Hongqi’s much wider range. The absolute-dollar story is the mirror image: the E HS9 carries a countervailing duty of roughly $18,900, more than the entire landed cost of an E QM5.
Same car, different market: where the 20.7% disappears
The countervailing duty is an EU measure. The same cars land very differently outside the bloc:
| Model | Germany (EU) | UK (Non-EU) | UAE (Middle East) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi SU7 | $54,504 (+80%) | $46,272 (+53%) | $37,878 (+25%) |
| Hongqi EH7 | $53,067 (+80%) | $45,071 (+53%) | $36,875 (+25%) |
A $16,600 difference on the SU7 between Germany and the UAE — almost entirely the 20.7% countervailing duty plus EU VAT. The UK’s post-Brexit 10% duty with no CVD cuts the premium to +53%; the UAE’s 5% duty and 5% VAT collapse it to +25%.
What buyers should ask before importing a Xiaomi or Hongqi EV
- “Which brand am I actually buying?” — both carry 20.7%, so the tariff tells you nothing. The decision is base price and positioning, not duty.
- “Is this a BEV or a PHEV/EREV?” — the 20.7% applies to BEVs only. Xiaomi’s SkyNomad EREVs and Hongqi’s PHEVs skip the CVD.
- “What’s the absolute duty bill, not the rate?” — 20.7% on an $83,070 E HS9 is ~$18,900. Always ask for the dollar figure.
- “Am I registering in the EU?” — if not, the 20.7% may not apply. Get the landed cost for your actual destination.
- “Does the rate differ from BYD’s?” — Xiaomi and Hongqi pay 20.7%, 3.7 points above BYD’s 17%. The gap is real but smaller than base-price differences between specific models.
The Author’s Take
Position: In my view, the Xiaomi–Hongqi pairing is a tariff coincidence that obscures two different import problems — Xiaomi is a mid-premium play that survives the 20.7% intact, while Hongqi’s wide range means its own cheapest car is its worst import.
Reasoning: First, the 20.7% is the “other cooperating” default shared by both, so the rate carries no signal about either brand; comparing them by tariff is meaningless because they are identical on paper. Second, Xiaomi’s tightly clustered four-model lineup sits entirely in the band where the 20.7% produces a manageable +67% to +80% premium, so the brand is coherently importable. Third, Hongqi’s range is its own undoing — the $12,650 E QM5 suffers a +110% premium from the fixed-cost stack long before the tariff matters, while the $83,070 E HS9 generates the largest dollar duty bill; a single brand cannot be treated as a single tariff story.
Disclosure: This is my interpretation of published EU tariff law and the EV Hub landed-cost records, not legal or tax advice. Countervailing-duty rates and covered exporters are set by EU regulation and can change; verify the current schedule with a customs broker before pricing anything.
Related reading
- BYD’s 17% Countervailing Duty
- Geely’s 18.8% Countervailing Duty
- Why MG/SAIC Pays 35.3%
- Why the Sticker Price Is Never the Landed Price
Sources
- European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754 — definitive countervailing duties on Chinese BEVs — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2754/oj — 30 October 2024
- European Commission press release on definitive anti-subsidy duties on BEVs from China — 29 October 2024
- EV Hub — tariffs.json brand_cvd (Xiaomi/Hongqi → 20.7% “other cooperating” rate) and market-master.json (EU duty/VAT), verified 2026-09-15
- EV Hub — vehicle landed-cost records for 12 Xiaomi/Hongqi BEV models, 2026-09-15