:00:01. > :00:11.headlines from BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news and
:00:11. > :00:19.
:00:19. > :00:22.World Business Report. The great solar panel squeeze - the European
:00:23. > :00:27.Union gets ready to slap import duties on solar panels made in
:00:27. > :00:30.China. But is it too little too late to save European manufacturers.
:00:30. > :00:40.And Toyota's poised to announce its profits have quadrupled thanks to
:00:40. > :00:40.
:00:40. > :00:45.strong sales in the US and a weak Japanese yen. Welcome to World
:00:45. > :00:49.Business Report. Also in the program the luxury electric car
:00:49. > :00:55.that can match the speed of a Ferrari but at a fraction of the
:00:55. > :01:00.cost to run. We'll take a test drive. The EU is poised to slap
:01:00. > :01:06.heavy import duties on solar panel equipment made in China. This could
:01:06. > :01:09.turn into one of the biggest trade rows of recent years. Trade
:01:09. > :01:12.Commissioner Karel De Gucht will tell his fellow EU commissioners
:01:12. > :01:15.that Brussels should levy the tariffs to guard against Chinese
:01:15. > :01:20.production that quadrupled between 2009 and 2011 - it's now greater
:01:20. > :01:23.than the entire global demand. Chinese companies have captured
:01:23. > :01:31.more than 80% of the European market forcing dozens of European
:01:31. > :01:41.firms to close down as a result. With me now is Kash Burchett,
:01:41. > :01:45.Europe analyst at IHS Energy. With talk about these move by
:01:45. > :01:51.commissioners in Brussels to protect the European manufacturers,
:01:51. > :01:56.is it too late? It is for some of these firms which have been forced
:01:56. > :02:01.into insolvency. The nature of the industry, there is a feast and
:02:01. > :02:07.famine cycle tour. When governments announced they were going to
:02:07. > :02:13.subsidise a Solar industry, there was a growth and then only months.
:02:13. > :02:18.The Germans were struggling against the Chinese competition. Many of
:02:18. > :02:28.the Chinese firms, according to Washington and Brussels, have been
:02:28. > :02:31.able to sustain their coffers because of the easy loans. But can
:02:31. > :02:36.we keep the company is going forever? The horse has bolted
:02:36. > :02:42.already. The Chinese government are saying that there will be
:02:42. > :02:46.consolidation not because of any action by the EU for the WTO, but
:02:46. > :02:52.it is unsustainable to keep cropping up these firms on a life-
:02:52. > :02:58.support. From the point of view of the EU, if they agreed to slap
:02:58. > :03:04.tariffs on the Chinese, what impact is that going to have? It is good
:03:04. > :03:08.news for the manufacturers of solar panels in Germany. Less for the
:03:08. > :03:13.installers because they will be paying higher prices. Looking to
:03:13. > :03:19.the future, it is difficult to see how the Chinese will react. The
:03:19. > :03:24.Green lobby in Germany, now that Angela Merkel is willing to drive
:03:24. > :03:29.these policy fruit - China is an important trading partner but they
:03:29. > :03:34.are willing to antagonise them because of the power of the Green
:03:34. > :03:39.lobby due to the elections in September. China needs Europe as
:03:40. > :03:47.much as Europe needs China. With the European economy in a difficult
:03:47. > :03:53.position, many are looking to China? That is for large produce. A
:03:53. > :03:58.lot of European governments are looking for the Green collar said.
:03:58. > :04:03.Finding an engine for growth and jobs. They have different
:04:03. > :04:09.challenges and balances. Thank you for your time. We will keep an eye
:04:09. > :04:13.on the story as it develops today. It is a hot topic for discussion in
:04:13. > :04:16.Brussels. It's a tough road for makers of electric cars in the US.
:04:16. > :04:19.Just this week, an American manufacturer filed for bankruptcy
:04:19. > :04:23.and analysts say others are on the brink. Consumers are interested but
:04:23. > :04:27.not quite willing to give up the ease of cars that run on gasoline.
:04:27. > :04:29.But one company stands out - Tesla is a maker of sporty battery
:04:29. > :04:33.operated vehicles and is racing past its competitors. Company
:04:33. > :04:41.shares are up 50% hitting a record high this week and when it reports
:04:41. > :04:45.it's earnings today Tesla is expected to make its first profit.
:04:45. > :04:53.-- its. Samira Hussain hit the road to find out the secret of its
:04:53. > :04:58.success. I'm about to step into a car that is unlike most others on
:04:58. > :05:07.the road. You do not hear anything when I start it. It is that silence
:05:07. > :05:14.that makes that Chi Uni. And 80,000 dollar Electric on a Mobile. --
:05:14. > :05:19.that makes this can't unique. nice to drive. You're not
:05:19. > :05:26.compromising on that, you have a safe and could come but at the same
:05:26. > :05:34.time the EU are doing your part in saving the earth. -- you are doing
:05:34. > :05:39.your part. 4750 models have been sold, exceeding their forecasts for
:05:39. > :05:45.the quarter. By selling more of these cars, Tesla has been able to
:05:45. > :05:50.pull ahead of other electric car manufacturers. While Tesla may be
:05:50. > :05:55.able to turn a profit, the road ahead is still bumpy for electric
:05:55. > :05:59.car manufacturers. They are interested but they're not willing
:05:59. > :06:05.to make the purchase quite yet until the technology proves itself
:06:05. > :06:13.as being able to charge quickly and go further. Right now, gasoline is
:06:13. > :06:20.so easy. Here, you need to stop for an hour or an hour-and-a-half. Once
:06:20. > :06:24.that comes down there will be more viable. For buyers, hybrids - cars
:06:24. > :06:30.there is both gasoline and electricity - are often a better
:06:30. > :06:36.and more practical option. In the US, one million hybrid vehicles
:06:36. > :06:40.have been sold. Less than 100,000 pure electric. That is a huge
:06:40. > :06:46.difference. By when unearth regulations are implemented, it
:06:46. > :06:53.will grow. But the bigger opportunity is the hybrid vehicle.
:06:53. > :06:59.Hybrids may be a happy medium but not for all. This guy is just
:06:59. > :07:06.beautiful -- this car is just beautiful. They are hoping more
:07:07. > :07:09.people will think so also. Tell us what you think. Later today the
:07:09. > :07:12.world's best-selling carmaker, Toyota, is expected to post
:07:12. > :07:16.operating profits nearly four times as high as last year. Among Japan's
:07:16. > :07:19.big 3 automakers - Toyota, Nissan and Honda - analysts see Toyota as
:07:19. > :07:23.the most likely to benefit from a weakening yen because it has the
:07:23. > :07:33.highest ratio of production in Japan, more than half of which is
:07:33. > :07:37.
:07:37. > :07:44.exported. At last some good news for Toyota. Lately it has been a
:07:44. > :07:49.flurry of difficult headlines for them. They have had several years
:07:49. > :07:54.of difficult headlines, starting in 2008 when they had record profits
:07:54. > :08:01.for so many years then there was a collapse in profits. Then they had
:08:01. > :08:05.a scandal or a real problem with technical faults in the US and a
:08:05. > :08:15.massive recall. They have now come back from that quite strongly. We
:08:15. > :08:17.
:08:17. > :08:21.are expecting to see these figures of between $13 billion in operating
:08:21. > :08:26.profits for 2000 and well which is double what people were expecting.
:08:26. > :08:32.A really strong performance -- 2012. There is up on the back of two
:08:32. > :08:40.things - the weakening of the yen which has increased their profit
:08:40. > :08:46.comeback of the US market an leap in the Toyota sales - up 27% last
:08:46. > :08:51.year. It is important in seeing that comeback in the US, the timing
:08:51. > :08:56.of it, considering it has had at half time in China another import
:08:56. > :09:03.market? It has had a very tough time in China particularly at the
:09:03. > :09:06.end of last year when there was a lot of Japanese violence in China
:09:06. > :09:12.over eight territorial and political dispute which had at
:09:12. > :09:16.knock-on effect on Japanese Prime us. Toyota or fell dramatically in
:09:16. > :09:22.the last quarter of last year. Those have started to come back but
:09:22. > :09:30.slowly. If you look at the last two months, much sales in China and
:09:30. > :09:35.down 11%, April sales up 6%. We are seeing it slowly, slowly coming
:09:35. > :09:42.back. Japanese manufacturers like Toyota are still suffering badly in
:09:42. > :09:48.the Chinese market. We was big you again when we get the results. We
:09:48. > :09:54.are seeing lots of record levels hit on significant areas. For
:09:54. > :09:59.example, Japan is well above. The yen is a little bit stronger
:09:59. > :10:05.compared to this time yesterday it. The Dow closed about 15,000
:10:05. > :10:10.yesterday. You can see the market's continuing to rally. A story
:10:10. > :10:15.boosting things is that China exports rose much more than