Chinese automakers want to come to US. They could be here fairly soon

Chinese cars could be at an American dealership sooner than you think, and that’s good news for US consumers. Chinese car companies make more vehicles than anyone else on Earth and export more as well. But high tariffs and hostile US-China trade relations have kept them out of the American market.

That’s likely to change, according to experts, with Chinese autos hitting US showrooms in the next five to 10 years.

“The ambition is there,” said Lei Xing, an independent auto analyst and former chief editor of China Automotive Review magazine, even if companies have to build factories here rather than ship cars here from China. He said multiple Chinese automakers have shown “readiness to come to the US, to build in the US.”

That would be helpful for American car buyers. Greater competition means more choices, especially for EVs, which in turn should lower prices. But it would also squeeze the profits and market share of the car companies already selling in the US, likely affecting the nearly 1 million people who work for them.

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