07:17 12-05-2026

US automakers fear Chinese EV threat as Trump meets Xi

As Trump meets Xi, US automakers fear cheap Chinese electric vehicles flooding the market. Industry pushes for legislative barriers. Will Trump open the door?

As Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the U.S. auto industry is scrambling to send a clear message to the White House: don't open the American market to Chinese cars. This isn't just about tariffs anymore—it's a fear that cheap Chinese electric vehicles could quickly shift the balance of power in a country where the average new car price has already topped $51,000 (around €47,500).

Those concerns were heightened by Trump's own words. In January, he said in Detroit that it would be "great" if Chinese automakers built factories in the U.S. and hired American workers.

For an industry that has spent years pushing for barriers against Chinese vehicles, that sounded like a warning signal. Automakers, suppliers, steel companies, dealers, unions, and politicians are now largely united. Their main argument is simple: Chinese brands aren't entering as ordinary competitors. They bring massive scale, government support, strong positions in EVs, and prices that American companies struggle to match.

Congress is already advancing a bill on connected vehicle security, backed by both Democrats and Republicans. The legislation aims to formalize a ban on Chinese vehicles over data collection—modern cars transmit information about routes, movements, people, and infrastructure. Senator Elissa Slotkin directly asked Trump, "Please don't make a bad deal."

A separate version of the bill in the House goes even further, potentially prohibiting partnerships between American companies and Chinese players. In Michigan, this is seen not as a trade dispute but as a matter of survival for factories and jobs.

The U.S. worry is understandable looking at Europe and Mexico. Last year, Chinese brands doubled their European market share to 6%, reaching 14% in Norway, 11% in the UK, and 9% each in Italy and Spain. In Mexico, 34 Chinese brands are sold, together holding about 15% of the market.

Prices tell the story. The Geely EX2 EV in Mexico costs about $22,700 (€21,100). That's higher than in China, but still well below the cheapest Tesla Model 3 in the U.S., which is $38,630 (€35,900). Even Toyota, which once put pressure on Detroit with its pricing and reliability, admits it's tough to compete with those numbers. According to David Christ of Toyota Motor North America, there's clearly a certain level of government support behind such pricing, and that has a huge impact on business.

Officially, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said automotive topics are not on the agenda for the Beijing meeting, and there are no plans to change the rule on connected vehicles. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also ruled out Chinese investment in the U.S. auto sector. But the concern remains: Trump likes to talk about new factories on American soil, and any approval for such a project could have an impact in two to three years.

For U.S. buyers, Chinese cars could mean lower prices at a time when new vehicles are becoming less affordable. For Detroit, it's a different story: the risk of a competitor that brings not just one model, but a whole system of cheap production, batteries, and government support. That's why the debate isn't about whether another brand will appear in showrooms, but about who will set prices in the market tomorrow.