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Tesla has sued the European Union over tariffs on imports of electric cars made in China.
Import duties on Chinese electric vehicles began to apply in the European Union countries in October 2024. The size of the rate depends on the degree of participation of the Chinese government in the activities of a particular automaker: Tesla, as the company that receives the least support from the Chinese government, pays 7,8 percent, and the SAIC concern pays a maximum of 35,3 percent. Moreover, the increased duty is added to the current rate of 10 percent.
The reason for the increased duty was an investigation conducted by the EU, which showed that the BEV value chain in China “benefits from unfair subsidies”, which poses a threat of economic losses for European electric vehicle manufacturers. In other words, the European Union is thus achieving “fair competition”, as previously stated by the chairman of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, Bernd Lange.
According to statistics, approximately one-fifth of all electric vehicles — about 300 units — sold in the European Union in 2024 were made in China.
China has challenged the European Union's anti-dumping duties on electric vehicles at the World Trade Organization. European automakers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen AG and Volvo, are also opposing the trade war with China.
A number of companies have filed lawsuits with the European Court of Justice, including Germany's Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Chinese automakers BYD Co., Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and SAIC Motor Corp., and now the American Tesla.
