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02:34

The Jaecoo and Omoda electric vehicle brands, both owned by China's Chery Auto, will go on sale in Italy in the third quarter of 2024. Chery started selling cars in Spain earlier this year and Italy represents its second European market.

Jaecoo and Omoda are pushing into Italy as the European Commission investigates Chinese EV companies and state subsidies.

But as governments across Europe await the outcome of the EU inquiry, they are also trying to attract Chinese automakers to manufacture cars in their countries.

Chery Automobile dealerships like this one in Sydney, Australia could become common in Italy. /Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

EV sales in Italy lag behind other European countries with far smaller populations, such as Portugal or Belgium. Car industry insiders say many of their customers are concerned about switching from petrol to electric.

According to Plinio Vanini, President of Gruppo Autotorino, which has more than 70 dealerships across Italy: "Battery life is one of the main things. The second issue is charging infrastructure."

He added: "The country is not ready yet or it's not adequate. Especially in cities, there are a number of complex issues, for example the installation of charging boxes in apartment buildings and therefore it's going to take a long, long time."

E.U. investigation into state subsidies

Last October, the European Commission launched an investigation into whether Chinese EV companies benefit from "illegal" state subsidies. As part of the probe, the European Commission has also started tracking imports of Chinese EVs into the EU.

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When its inquiry was launched, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the process known as "registration" started "due to massive imports of battery electric vehicles in a relatively short period of time."

He added: "The registration in no way prejudges the outcome of the investigation. The investigation will continue to follow strict legal procedure in line with EU and WTO rules."

The Chinese government has described the ongoing probe as "protectionist."

An EV sits in an electro-magnetic interference testing lab at the BYD Co. headquarters in Shenzhen in 2017. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Imagesclose

European governments try to attract Chinese carmakers

After reports linking China's BYD to Italy, the company now appears to be on the brink of building a factory in Spain. The Spanish government said this week that it expects a deal for BYD to start manufacturing cars in the Catalonia region to be finalized soon.