The annual limit will be imposed under World Trade Organization safeguard measures, which allow it to be implemented swiftly without the type of investigations required for anti-dumping duties. Cars imported above the quota will not face tariffs, but will remain blocked in customs at docks in Europe.
Hybrid imports into the EU have soared over the past two years, with about 800,000 battery and plug-in hybrids likely to be sold this year. Chinese customs data shows exports of hybrids to the EU tripled to €6.7bn (£5.68bn) in the first half of this year, from €2.2bn a year earlier.
Chinese vehicles assembled within the EU, such as those made in Hungary or, in future, Spain, will be exempt from the quota. EU companies making cars in China will be subject to it, officials confirmed.
As part of the deal, China has agreed to drop some tariffs on auto parts and halve duties on footwear, olive oil and ice-cream from the EU. Officials stressed that the quota is fully supported by Beijing, with further dialogue continuing on cars and other imports including chemicals, renewable energy and furniture. "We will continue the dialogue on some products ... this is by no means the end of the story," one official said.
The arrangement comes amid mounting concern over the EU's £1bn-a-day trade deficit with China, which the bloc has called "unsustainable". Until recently, the EU's strategy for tackling the imbalance had been to seek to increase exports to China. Sources said there has been "a paradigm shift" in approach.
On Thursday, EU leaders will discuss a French-German proposal for a "kill switch" that would allow Brussels to block access to the single market for certain goods in the event of a harmful development, such as a ban on rare earths crucial to the tech and automotive industries.