BMW said EU duties on battery EVs “do not strengthen the competitiveness of European manufacturers”, but instead “harm business models of globally active companies.”

(Jan 27): Elon Musk’s Tesla and BMW AG have sued the European Union’s (EU) executive, adding to a flurry of cases by Chinese carmakers attacking tariffs peaking at 45% on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) into the bloc.

The EU’s General Court’s website showed the two EV makers made unspecified challenges against the European Commission last week.

Musk’s lawsuit adds to tensions with the EU stoked by the world’s richest man in recent months. While Musk has upset European politicians for his support of right-wing parties such as Germany’s AfD, he’s also been in the EU’s cross-hairs over the lack of content moderation on his X platform.

BMW said in a statement that EU duties on battery EVs “do not strengthen the competitiveness of European manufacturers”, but instead “harm business models of globally active companies” and “limit the supply of e-cars to European customers and can therefore even slow down decarbonisation in the transport sector”.

The German firm said it still considers it “preferable that a political agreement be sought through negotiations. As stated before, it is important to avoid a trade conflict that only has losers in the end”.

The EU has only seen limited progress so far in negotiations with China over a comprehensive deal to replace the EV tariffs, Bloomberg has reported.

Tesla, which manufactures cars for the European market in China, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the move and the Luxembourg-based court said it couldn’t give further details on the content of the cases.

The EU paved the way for the duties, voting in October to impose the tariffs after an investigation found that China unfairly subsidised its industry. Months of talks failed to resolve the trade dispute, leading Brussels to tack the new fees onto an existing 10% import duty.

The EU imposed anti-subsidy tariffs of 7.8% on Tesla on top of the 10% levy. BMW’s imports were hit with a 20.7% duty. The firm was hit because its electric Mini Cooper and the 100% electric Mini Aceman are made in China, according to car website Autogear.

MG’s state-owned parent SAIC was hit hardest, with tariffs that now total 45%. Long the top-selling Chinese carmaker in Europe, the once-British sports-car brand has faltered recently, logging a 58% drop in registrations in November, based on data provided by Jato Dynamics, another research firm.

“We are prepared to defend our case in court as necessary,” said Olof Gill, a spokesman for the Brussels-based commission.

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