China is threatening to extend a trade spat with the EU to luxury cars, ratcheting up a growing battle over market access that has already seen clashes over solar panels and wine, and could harm sales of high-end vehicles in one of the world’s biggest growth markets.

The Chinese are mulling an official complaint to Brussels over luxury cars imported from the EU, two European sources with knowledge of the situation said. Any action taken by China to penalise importers would hurt German carmakers in particular as they dominate the country’s luxury market.

“I can confirm that the Chinese are threatening to make a complaint but we are not sure how serious the threat is,” said a senior European Commission official. “It could simply be part of their strategy to force us to reach a deal on other trade matters.”