The potential sales of US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla could be threatened in China, after a decision by the Chinese authorities to include electric vehicles (EVs) among the US-product imports on which additional tariffs are being levied.

The list of US products hit with additional tariffs in China includes US-manufactured EVs, as well as other US auto imports like SUVs.

As such, China’s recent announcement to levy additional tariffs on a list of products imported from the US will affect Tesla as well as other major automakers like BMW AG and Daimler AG.

However, the hiked EV tariffs in China will particularly hit Tesla because the company depends completely on US-manufactured EVs for all its sales in China, the largest auto market in the world. In comparison to Tesla, other US automakers like General Motors (GM) and Ford manufacture most of their vehicles in China and import only a few vehicles.

With regard to the impact of China’s tariff-hike announcement on Tesla, Cui Dongshu -- the Secretary General of China's Passenger Car Association -- said that “the jump in tax levy hurts Tesla the most as it had not yet started local production in China.” Dongshu also added that the additional tariffs will not have a considerable impact on auto imports by GM and Ford because “they can always make up with China-produced ones.”