Germany had hoped to rally more nations to vote against the tariffs, but it was always going to be a high bar, requiring 15 countries and 65% of the EU population to overturn the previous vote. As of this week, it became apparent that Germany was never going to get there.

The European Commission said on Friday it had received enough support in a vote of EU members to impose tariffs of up to 45% on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles in the bloc's highest profile trade case,

European electric vehicle (EV) sales suffered a weak performance in 2024. Automakers are facing great pressure from Chinese EVs and potential emission penalties.

Germany led opposition to the duties, fearing retaliatory measures from Beijing on its robust car manufacturing sector, among other industries.

The European Union will press ahead with hefty tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, the EU executive said on Friday, even after the bloc's largest economy Germany rejected them, exposing a rift over its biggest trade row with Beijing in a decade.