Electric car makers face £3.7bn bill over EU tariffs

Electric vehicle manufacturers face a £3.7bn bill unless the EU scraps plans to introduce 10pc tariffs on car makers who fail to source all their parts from within the bloc and Britain.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association has urged the EU to prevent the taxes coming into force in January or face “driving up consumer prices”.

5 things to start your day 

1) Britain’s slowing economy has cost families £1,400 – Britain is stumbling ‘from one major crisis to the next’, says Resolution Foundation

2) BT to cut rural jobs in diversity push – Cost-cutting move is a significant factor in prioritising investment in city centres

3) Wealthy savers in line for tens of thousands of pounds in Isa overhaul – Jeremy Hunt considers reforming the current savings system to boost investment

4) Car dealer Pendragon accused of fraud over software business – £260m lawsuit comes at a turbulent time for Britain’s automotive industry

5) Irish start-up plans UK’s first drone takeaway service – Manna’s launch is expected to kick off an air delivery race among tech companies

What happened overnight 

Shares in Asia were mostly lower, with Tokyo the only major regional market to advance, after Wall Street suffered more losses with its worst week in six months.

Worries over China’s property sector, a US government shutdown and the continued strike by American autoworkers were weighing on investor sentiment.

Troubled property developer China Evergrande sank 18.2pc after announcing it was unable to raise further debt, a predicament that might imperil plans for restructuring its more than $300 billion in debt.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.5pc to 17,794.49, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.5pc to 3,116.17.

Tokyo stocks ended higher in bargain-hunting following sharp falls last week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.9pc, or 276.21 points, to 32,678.62, while the broader Topix index rose 0.4pc, or 9.23 points, to 2,385.50.

In Seoul, the Kospi lost 0.5pc to 2,496.65, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1pc to 7,064.30.