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The Nation’s Pulse

There’s No Reason to Fear an Invasion of Chinese Electric Vehicles

If Americans won’t lease a Volkswagen EV for $99 a month, they’re certainly not clamoring for a BYD hatchback.

by

Buck Throckmorton

May 18, 2026, 10:46 PM

Electric vehicle manufactured by Chinese company BYD (Tiago Ferreira/Unsplash)

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Chinese auto manufacturers have gobbled up huge market share in Europe and Mexico. It is now widely accepted in many business and policy circles that it’s just a matter of time until the U.S. auto market is captured by an invasion of Chinese electric vehicles. (RELATED: Canada, California, and Chinese Electric Cars)<br>If you are worried about this, you can relax. The great Chinese EV invasion is not going to happen, and if China does attempt to start dumping its glut of EVs in America, it will be a resounding failure. The U.S. auto industry faces much greater peril from irresponsible CEOs flushing billions of dollars away in pursuit of an all-EV future than it does from Chinese EVs capturing the fancy of American car buyers. (RELATED: EVs and Autonomous Vehicles: General Motors’ Doomed Focus on Unprofitable Boutique Products)

Within China, government subsidized over-production of automobiles, along with price-slashing to unload the excess inventory, has caused U.S. and European auto companies to suffer significant market share losses. Meanwhile, Western auto industry “experts” swoon at the dominance of Chinese cars in China. (RELATED: While Canada Cozies Up to China, Mexico Imposes Harsh Tariffs Due to Chinese Auto Dumping)<br>Something similar is playing out in other markets, where Chinese cars subsidized by the Xi administration are also gaining market share. Chinese manufacturers have captured about 10 percent of the European auto market. These are overwhelmingly pure battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, benefiting from European mandates for an all-EV future. Not only is the Chinese government subsidizing the dumping of these vehicles at prices below European competition, but European consumers also get incentives from their own governments worth an additional several thousand Euros when purchasing these cheap Chinese EVs.<br>Mexico is another market where Chinese auto manufacturers have gained significant market share, and for the same reason as in Europe — China has been dumping heavily subsidized vehicles into the market at a price point at which legacy companies cannot compete. But despite the misleading headlines about Chinese cars in Mexico, these are overwhelmingly gasoline-powered cars, not EVs. As I documented in a recent American Spectator piece, China’s subsidization of its auto industry is forcing it to dump its glut of gas cars in places like Mexico, provoking Mexico to recently impose retaliatory tariffs.<br>U.S. politics, import tariffs, and the homologation necessary to get Chinese cars certified for American roads are probably enough to keep Chinese cars from ever reaching our shores. But even if Chinese EVs were offered for sale here, there is no reason to think Americans would even kick their tires, much less purchase one. (RELATED: EVs Are a Failed Experiment)<br>Disregarding the heavy incentives and subsidization that are compelling Europeans to buy cheap Chinese EVs, the European taste in vehicles is radically different than that of Americans. The roads, cities, driving evolution, and distances are nothing alike. Europeans prefer to buy small cars. Americans prefer full-size cars, big SUVs, and pickup trucks.

An overwhelming majority of Americans will pretty much not buy an EV under any circumstance, even if it’s heavily subsidized.

In addition, an overwhelming majority of Americans will pretty much not buy an EV under any circumstance, even if it’s heavily subsidized. With the (now terminated) $7,500 federal EV tax rebate, the market share for EVs in the U.S. peaked at barely 8 percent before subsidies ended. About half of that was Tesla’s luxury-boutique niche, with much of the rest being municipal and other fleet sales.<br>Volkswagen’s U.S.-made ID.4, an all-electric car, was such a...