German carmakers with big US operations like BMW and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler would be worse hit by proposed Chinese import tariffs than American auto firms, a study has found.
"The Germans stand to lose the most in absolute terms if the tariffs are enforced," a study by asset managers AllianceBernstein (AB) showed.
Business information company IHS estimated BMW would export 89,000 vehicles from America to China in 2018, while Mercedes would ship 65,000, making them by far the biggest US-China exporters.
US-made cars accounted for around 280,000 imports into China last year, behind top importer Japan but ahead of Germany.
But aside from electric-car pioneer Tesla - where China is projected to account for more than 15 percent of shipments of its Model S and X lines this year - other US-based manufacturers should send less than 10,000 cars each to China, limiting the impact.