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

The EU imposed anti-subsidy tariffs of 7.8% on Tesla on top of the 10% levy. BMW’s imports were hit with a 20.7% duty. The firm was hit because its electric Mini Cooper and the 100% electric Mini Aceman are made in China, according to car website Autogear.

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.

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.

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The EU imposed extra tariffs of up to 35% on Chinese-manufactured EVs in October after an anti-subsidy investigation found Chinese state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers.

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.