..."We don't want to see Chinese electric vehicles benefiting from our climate policies," [EPP-CSU leader Manfred] Weber told MEPs after von der Leyen's annual address. "We have to activate our trade defense instruments to avoid another solar panel attack [sic] ..."

Green Party Bobo Annalena Baerbock ...

VW is cutting jobs at its German EV factory because demand is plunging | Fortune - 2 hrs ago |

German Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visits the Volkswagen booth at the 2023 IAA Mobility car show. (Photo credit: Leon Kuegeler--Photothek via Getty Images)

Volkswagen is having a tough time selling enough mostly made-in-Germany electric cars to challenge Tesla Inc.'s global dominance. Lackluster economic growth as well as higher energy, living and borrowing costs in Europe have weighed on demand for its ID fleet of EVs.

The company hired around 2,700 temporary workers at the Zwickau facility near the Czech border to meet expected surging EV demand. But orders from corporate clients -- which account for around 70% of the IDs built at the plant -- have been plummeting since a federal subsidy for battery-powered company vehicles expired this month, one of the people said.

A spokesperson for Volkswagen declined to comment.

At the same time, Volkswagen is following Tesla, BMW AG and others in exporting an EV from lower-cost China to Europe. Its Cupra brand has announced plans to produce the Tavascan SUV at a factory in Anhui. Built on the same hardware and software platforms as the ID series, the model is due to hit the European market in 2024.