The European Commission, which oversees the bloc’s trade policy, has set provisional duties of up to 37.6% on EVs imported from China to counter what it says are unfair subsidies and has canvassed EU member views in a so-called advisory vote.
A dozen EU members voted in support of the tariffs, four voted against and 11 abstained, the sources said.
German carmakers, which made a third of their sales last year in China, have urged the EU to drop tariffs, which would not only apply to Chinese producers such as BYD, Geely and SAIC, but also to China-built cars of Western automakers such as Tesla and BMW.
In the vote, France, Italy and Spain supported the tariffs, while Germany, Finland and Sweden abstained, government sources said.