Geely Automobile Holdings electric vehicles bound for shipment to Europe at the port of Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China. The European Commission has begun an investigation into whether to impose punitive tariffs on imports of cheap electric cars from China. Photograph: Bloomberg The European Commission has begun an investigation into whether to impose punitive tariffs on imports of cheap electric cars from China, which it says are benefiting from unfair state subsidies to the detriment of local car manufacturers. This hardened position, announced by EC president Ursula von der Leyen last week, immediately raised concerns that China could hit back with…