Revenge.
A while back I was reading in the press about rules of origin and the fact that the EU was refusing to allow vehicles assembled in the UK with a significant proportion of foreign components (more than 40%), to be deemed UK.
But also in the Climate press, I read that EU made electric vehicles contain as much as 75% components from Asia, specifically because the EU doesn't have a battery manufacturing plant yet which can provide batteries for these vehicles. Yes, they say they are investing in them, but they are also writing 10 year contracts, or more, for supply from China and South Korea.
So is this really revenge or even a negotiating tactic for a deal. I.e. give us what we want now or VW won't be selling any EV's to the UK without 10% tariffs on them.
The irony of this is that the only EV's made in Germany that will be viable to sell to the UK, sans tax, will be Tesla's. Because the US manufacturer intends to have a battery plant in Berlin.
Wheels within wheels within wheels. VW is flat out migrating from fossil fuel to EV. VW sells around a quarter of a million vehicles in the UK each year.
The threat is palpable. Also, in control of our own tariffs, the UK could levy more than 10%. We already have a trade deal with Japan which it would not impact. South Korea too I believe.
It is an interesting game to work out what really lies behind these decisions.