BMW's made-in-China electric Mini cars to be hit with lower tariffs in EU reduced to 21.3 percent

BMW said its joint venture producing electric Minis in China was classified as an "associate company" in the EU's latest draft tariff document on duties for China-made EVs, making them eligible for a lower duty of 21.3 percent.

"It is logical that Spotlight Automotive Limited (our joint venture with Great Wall Motors in China to produce fully electric Mini cars) was brought into the circle of associate companies," the carmaker said in a statement.

Before the tariff announcement, Brussels had not included the Mini in its sample analysis; hence, it was initially automatically subject to a maximum tariff level of 37.6 percent.

The European Commission said earlier on Tuesday it would slash the proposed duty on imports of Tesla cars made in China and announced that some Chinese companies involved in joint ventures with European automakers could also get a cut in the proposed punitive duty on electric vehicles made in China.

In what is perhaps the highest-profile EU investigation into alleged Chinese subsidies, the Commission published a draft of the conclusive findings of its anti-subsidy investigation, and threats of retaliation from Beijing have already started coming in.

It set an all-time low for Tesla at 9 percent, down from the period reported in July of 20.8 percent.

The EU executive said on Tuesday that it still believes that Chinese EV production has benefited from extensive subsidies. And they have proposed a final duty of up to 36.3 percent. This is slightly lower than the maximum provisional duty of 37.6 percent set by the Commission in July for companies who did not cooperate with the EU's anti-subsidy investigation.