BMW and Tesla have both filed cases with the European Union’s (EU) Court of Justice challenging the EU’s recent decision to hike tariffs on Chinese-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs).  

The two automakers join a long list of Chinese automakers that have filed similar lawsuits against the EU, including BYD Auto, SAIC Motor and Geely. The Chinese government also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the tariff hike.

In October of last year, the EU imposed new import tariffs on Chinese-made BEVs of between 17% and 35%, depending on the level of Chinese government support each individual manufacturer is deemed to have benefited from, in addition to the 10% tariff that was already in place.

German automakers, including BMW and Volkswagen Group, have voiced opposition to the tariff hike as they are also looking to export BEVs to Europe from their manufacturing operations in China. They have invested heavily in China over the last two decades and are unhappy to see trade frictions rise between the two blocs.

Tesla would also like to see improved access to EU markets for its Chinese-made BEVs. The company produced 916,660 BEVs in Shanghai last year, around half of its global output, with local sales rising by 9% to 657,102 units while exports fell by 25% to 259,558 units.

BMW’s Chinese-made BEVs now incur EU import tariffs of close to 21%, while for BYD’ Auto the tariff rate is set at 17%; Geely 19%; and SAIC Motor 35%.

Olof Gill, spokesperson for the European Commission (EC), confirmed earlier this week that the EU is prepared to respond to the case in court.