Tesla and European carmakers that export from China to the EU will be part of the bloc’s probe into whether the country’s electric vehicles industry is receiving unfair subsidies, Brussels’ most senior trade official said.
EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday said there was “sufficient prima facie evidence” to justify the probe into imports from China of battery-powered vehicles, which Brussels fears could overwhelm the bloc’s car industry.
“Strictly speaking, it’s not limited only to Chinese brand electrical vehicles, it can be also other producers’ vehicles if they are receiving production-side subsidies,” said Dombrovskis in an interview, responding to a question on whether Tesla or Geely, the owner of Sweden’s Volvo, might fall under the probe.