The directive comes as, starting Wednesday, Chinese electric vehicles heading to Europe will be subject to tariffs as high as 45.3%

The chief of the best-selling car brand in the US has been taking trips to China and testing Chinese EVs over the past 18 months to size up the competition

The agency expects carmakers to continue working towards making cheaper and innovative EVs — with China firmly in the lead. It also predicts a hit to Europe’s GDP from the EV transition

The EU is attempting to hold talks with some EV-makers outside of official channels, shaking “the foundation and mutual trust of the negotiations,” Beijing says

Electric vehicle sales in China 'could be a record every month until the end of the year'

The European Commission looks to have gathered enough support for its planned tariffs to go through, despite pushback from major automakers and key bloc members

Hybrid vehicles drove the sales surge at top Chinese EV brands, in keeping with larger global car-buying trends

Technical talks with China had intensified to an almost daily basis and could extend beyond the end of October, a top European Commission official said

China and EU have both vowed to intensify efforts to avert the tariffs, amid concerns that could trigger a 'trade war' between the economic powerhouses

The planned tariffs, if approved by the EU's 27 members, will potentially raise prices for consumers at a time when the region's EV sales have plunged 44%

Washington and Brussels are set to disregard repeated ‘warnings’ and appeals from Beijing to reverse course on their planned steep tariff hikes on China-made electric vehicles

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said China was 'not playing by the same rules' as the rest of the world. He is also considering similar levies on imports of chips and solar cells