Court Rejects BMW Suit Over Subsidy Cut for Electric Car Plant

BMW AG (BMW.XE) will not receive further subsidies for its electric-car production plant in Leipzig, Germany, the General Court of the European Union said on Tuesday.

The court rejected a complaint by BMW on the matter, ruling that the European Commission's decision to only approve a subsidy of EUR17 million ($20.4 million) had been justified.

Initially, BMW was set to receive a EUR45.3 million subsidy to build a production plant for its i3 and i8 electric cars. The European Commission limited the subsidy to EUR17 million in July 2014, noting that a higher subsidy would not be consistent with European single-market rules.

Supported by the federal government of Saxony, BMW had filed a lawsuit against the decision in 2014 that has now been rejected. BMW can still appeal the verdict at the European Court of Justice.

Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 12, 2017 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)