Does America need to outlaw Chinese electric vehicles?
Source-foxnews
Appropriately, the announcement that BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, had surpassed Tesla to become the leading EV manufacturer globally coincided with the start of the Year of the Dragon.
However, as BYD eats up market share worldwide, America needs to be wary of the three heads of this dragon: spying on citizens, perhaps crippling American cars, and undermining the homegrown EV sector.
Major Chinese corporations are all under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and the United States should resist the worldwide rush to provide the CCP control over an important economic sector. America indeed needs to outlaw the sale of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), regardless of whether they are produced there or elsewhere, like Mexico.
Surveillance. In February 2023, Chinese spy balloons traveling from Alaska to Montana and then to the East Coast alarmed Americans. South Carolina saw it shot down. The 200-foot-tall, more than 2,000-pound balloon was outfitted with solar panels and electronics to gather private data.
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Chinese electric vehicles may be outfitted with even more potent spy gear. They might go to any location, including cellphone towers, power stations, and military installations.
Since Americans would be buying EVs, they would be significantly more cost-effective and efficient than spy balloons in gathering vital data. In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission outlawed ZTE and Huawei equipment due to comparable security concerns.
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Cars are disabled. America shouldn't allow the CCP the authority to stop or disable EVs driven in the country, just as General Motors' Onstar program claims to be able to stop or disable stolen cars. Emergency flashers can be remotely activated via Onstar. It can slow down the vehicle using Stolen Vehicle Slowdown® and stop engines from starting using the GM-trademarked Remote Ignition BlockTM*. Chinese automakers surely have the technology if Onstar can accomplish this, along with maybe turning off navigation and braking systems.
undermining EV incentives in the US. To finance EV and battery production facilities as well as consumer tax incentives to foster the growth of the domestic EV industry, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act included over $1 trillion in clean energy programs. However, contrary to what Congress intended, CCP subsidies for Chinese EVs can undercut both these initiatives and American EV manufacturers.
China has lower labor costs because of its low wages and the fact that it uses child labor and slave labor in Xinjiang; lower energy costs because it relies on domestic coal and has lax pollution regulations; and lower capital costs because the CCP offers low-interest financing to companies that it favors. China generates 80% of the world's batteries and holds 60% of the essential battery minerals.
These benefits have caused Chinese EV sales to rise internationally. Among the Chinese businesses are Great Wall, SAIC, Nio, Geely, BYD, and Chery. China is currently leading the world in automobile exports, having sent 5 million vehicles outside in 2023. Jeep has departed China at the same time as the country is growing, and sales of GM and Ford automobiles there have decreased by half from 2017 levels.
With its $11,500 Seagull, BYD, which sold 3 million cars last year, hopes to undercut German automakers. One of the least expensive new automobiles in the UK is the Dolphin, which costs $33,000. It is spreading to Australia, Asia, and Scandinavia. It's even selling $40,000 electric vehicles in South Africa, where blackouts are a regular occurrence.
SAIC presently owns MG in the UK, while Geely now owns Volvo. By 2024, Chery hopes to surpass Jeep, Jaguar, and Suzuki by selling 15,000 vehicles and opening 50 showrooms around the United Kingdom.
Last month, Michael Dunne stated in Automotive News, "China produces ten times as many electric vehicles and batteries as the United States does. While GM produced 75,883 EVs in total in 2023, BYD produced 76,800 EVs in the final week of December."
China is ahead in small electric vehicles (EVs), but American automakers are king when it comes to bigger cars like SUVs and pickup trucks. However, American automakers are under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to concentrate on electric vehicles rather than the automobiles that their customers want to purchase.
The White House is now reviewing regulations that would mandate that 60% of new car sales in 2030 and 66% in 2032 be battery-powered electric vehicles. The regulations are anticipated to be released in March.
America is unable to have it all. Requiring EVs without outlawing imports from Chinese businesses, domestic and foreign, will hand the U.S. auto market over to the Chinese, much as Chinese businesses are gaining control of auto markets throughout the world. Furthermore, permitting Chinese EV imports would give the CCP dominance over the American economy and pose serious concerns to national security.
America, take note: the Dragon is pursuing our vehicles.
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