India, May 9 -- BMW's CEO on Wednesday warned against imposing EU import duties on electric vehicles from Chinese automakers, saying it could upend the bloc's Green Deal industrial plan and harm German automakers which import cars made in China.

The European Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 27-nation European Union, launched an investigation in October into whether fully electric cars manufactured in China were receiving distortive subsidies and warranted extra tariffs.

"You could very quickly shoot yourself in the foot," CEO Oliver Zipse told reporters after the German premium automaker reported quarterly results. BMW imports Chinese-made Mini EVs and the iX3 into Europe. Like its German rivals Volkswagen and Mercedes-Ben...