Photo/Shetuwang

July 30 (NBD) -- German carmaker BMW said it will raise the prices of two U.S.-made crossover sport-utility vehicles in China to cope with additional costs caused by China's raised tariffs on U.S. car imports into the world's biggest auto market, Reuters reported on Sunday.

According to the statement that BMW sent to Reuters, the suggested retail price of X5 and X6 models will be lifted up by 4-7 percent and the price hike will take effect on Monday.

As of press time, BMW China hasn't responded.

Earlier on July 6 this year, China slapped an additional 25 percent import duty on U.S.-made cars, which prompted Tesla to be the first to raise sale prices in China. Besides, Mercedes-Benz up-regulated the official prices of its GLE and GLS models by 28,000-135,000 yuan (4,110-19,815 U.S. dollars) on July 13.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufactures show that China imported over 280,000 cars from the U.S. in 2017, accounting for 10 percent of the total auto imports for the year. Moreover, high-end SUVs of BMW including X4, X5, X6, X7 models took the largest proportion of China's car imports from the U.S. For instance, China imported 187,000 BMW cars last year, half of which were manufactured in the U.S.

Reuters regarded the rates of increase as a gesture suggesting BMW's willingness to absorb much of the higher costs stemming from bringing the SUVs to China from its factory in South Carolina, underscoring the fierce competition among luxury car brands in China.

BMW stands for free (trade) but can't stand still without taking actions to respond to the market changes, a BMW spokeswoman said in an email message to Reuters.

The American-made X4, X5 and X6 models are popular in the Chinese market, but BMW didn't mention a price hike on X4 models.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn