The timing of the European Commission’s introduction of this additional tax is, according to the German car company, detrimental to the European market for plug-in cars. “Countervailing import duties are generally unsuitable for strengthening the competitiveness of the European automotive industry in the long term,” Volkswagen writes. “We reject them.”

The European Union is continuing with high import duties on Chinese electric cars, the Commission announced on Thursday. They are intended to put an end to the unfair competition that China is allegedly creating by subsidizing its own manufacturers. The duties are still provisional. They are being set aside in case Brussels and Beijing cannot reach an agreement in the next four months.