China has been leading the EV market for a while now, but with the trade war between the Asian tech giant and the United States taking new turns, some changes are looming over the horizon.
EVs manufactured in China are sold widely across Europe, but making headway into the American market is the next big step for market growth. To ensure that access to the American market is not easily available to EV manufacturers, Rep. Elissa Slotkin has introduced a bill that limits the launch of these vehicles.
With the Biden administration already having quadrupled import duties on Chinese EVs, the situation is more difficult now than ever.
Why Was This New Bill Introduced?
As per Slotkin, who has served as a CIA analyst, there is a significant threat to the state if these EVs are allowed to be sold en masse. Since these vehicles have data-sharing capability and are connected to a certain extent, Slotkin states that critical information about military bases, power grids, traffic systems, etc. can be collected easily.
Slotkin even states that the ability to share data seamlessly allows the Chinese government to “locate specific U.S. leaders should they so choose”. While there is not much information regarding whether this threat is real or not, the fact is that Chinese EV manufacturers will not be entering the US market anytime soon.
What are the Implications?
If this bill were indeed made into law, it would end up affecting much more than just Chinese EV manufacturers. The bill also mentions banning autonomous vehicles (AV) that use Chinese tech. AV companies such as WeRide and Pony.ai, which already operate within the US, will fall under this provision.
It’s important to note that Chinese EV manufacturers such as Volvo and Polestar (both owned by Geely Automotive) already sell their cars within the USA. What this bill aims to do is stop the sale of ‘connected’ EVs and put scrutiny on every EV sale in the country.
The Department of Commerce has yet to provide its view on the issue, but there have been multiple probes ordered to look into the harmfulness of these vehicles.
