BERLIN (Reuters) - BMW will propose this week that the European Union lower its tariff on U.S. car imports to 2.5% from 10%, in line with the current U.S. import tariff, the German automaker's CEO Oliver Zipse said on Tuesday.

Both BMW and Tesla have been hit with tariffs by the EU on imports of electric vehicles made in China, along with other Chinese manufacturers such as BYD and SAIC. View on euronews

BMW said in a statement that EU duties on battery electric vehicles “harm business models of globally active companies.”

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, is taking the European Union (EU) to court over its tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. Filed last Wednesday with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by Tesla’s Shanghai division, the lawsuit comes in the wake of similar legal moves by BMW and other Chinese car manufacturers.

BMW has joined Chinese producers in filing a challenge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against EU tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), according to a filing on the court's website.

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Elon Musk's Tesla and German auto giant BMW have challenged EU import tariffs on China-made electric vehicles at the bloc's top court, the European Commission said Monday.

Tesla and Germany’s BMW are suing the European Commission, joining a growing band of Chinese automakers to oppose the European Union on its punitive tariffs on electric vehicles.