Chinese cars might be in American dealerships sooner than you think — it's both good and bad news

Chinese automakers may put cars in American dealerships sooner than expected, according to industry experts. Leading Chinese car companies are pushing foreign expansion by setting up factories all across Europe, and they now have their eye on the U.S., one of the largest markets in the world. Since Chinese cars currently attract hefty tariffs, automakers are looking to set up shop inside the country, a move the Trump administration is seemingly welcoming. 

According to experts, U.S.-made Chinese cars could hit showrooms as soon as the next five to ten years. “The ambition is there,” Lei Xing, an independent auto analyst and former chief editor of China Automotive Review magazine, told CNN. He shared that multiple Chinese automakers have expressed "readiness to come to the US, to build in the US," a move that will be widely beneficial for American buyers, as it would mean greater competition, wider variety, and lower prices, especially for electric vehicles. China produced one-third of all cars worldwide last year, with over 8 million of those exported, as per the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Furthermore, Chinese automaker BYD overtook Tesla last year to become the largest electric car company in the world, and this week it overtook Ford in global sales as well. 

Thus, the entry of Chinese auto players could put pressure on the profits of the American car makers, who employ nearly 1 million people. "China poses a clear and present threat to the auto industry in the U.S.," Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), a trade group that represents the biggest American automakers, wrote in its February report, after BYD unveiled a fully electric crossover sports utility vehicle that costs just $14,000. Arguing that Chinese auto makers are heavily backed by the Chinese government, AAI claimed their entry into the U.S. market could be "an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector." 

So far, Chinese cars shipped to America come with a 100% tariff, but President Donald Trump recently expressed that he won't oppose Chinese companies from building plants on U.S. soil.  “If they want to come in and build the plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great. I love that,” Trump said in a speech last month at the Economic Club of Detroit, per CNN. A White House spokesperson followed up on this, adding that the administration "supports all investment into the United States as long as our national and economic security is not compromised."

Building factories in the U.S. could take several years for Chinese companies, but experts argue that some have already made headway. Renowned auto brand, Volvo, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, built a plant in South Carolina in 2015, and it is currently undergoing a $1.3 billion expansion, CNN noted. This could allow Geely to build cars for its Zeekr and Lynk & Co. brands, the former of which already sells a limited number of cars to Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Alphabet. Xing told the publication that Zeely is poised to enter the U.S. market soon, claiming, “I think we’ll have an announcement on that in the next 24 to 36 months.”

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