BYD’s electric cars are unlikely to be appearing on U.S. streets anytime soon, despite a recent deal to allow thousands of Chinese-made EVs into neighboring Canada.
Lawmakers and federal regulators who were gathered at the Washington, D.C. auto show on Thursday, Jan. 22 threw cold water on the notion of BYD’s EVs entering the American market, citing concerns about the Chinese manufacturers’ willingness to comply with federal regulations regarding data privacy with connected car technology and U.S. vehicle safety standards.
U.S. Representative Bob Latta, who is an Ohio Republican and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said during a panel discussion at the D.C. Auto Show that most cars on U.S. roads currently have only some semi-autonomous driver assistance features because domestic manufactures adhere to federal safety standards. Latta said opening the door to BYD without assurances the Chinese EV maker would be willing to adhere to U.S. safety rules would risk drivers prematurely being exposed to autonomous technology before the federal government has a chance to put firm rules in place.
The Chinese manufacturer’s cheap vehicles that are made without adherence to U.S. labor laws would also hurt domestic manufacturers, Latta said.
“If you have a situation where the Chinese are out there going up faster, and people say ‘I want that technology in my car. I want to be able to have that,’ Latta said. “And all of a sudden you go to buy a U.S. made product and they say ’it’s not there.’ They say ‘I’m not going buy that vehicle. I’m going to buy this vehicle’ and that’s going to hurt American sales.”
U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who also serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed, saying “we need privacy data in this country more than people understand.” Domestic EV manufacturers would inherently be a disadvantage to BYD because “China is using slave labor,” Dingell added.
BYD’s electric cars are currently not sold in the U.S. because of factors such as high tariffs that are currently in place and federal rules regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards that the company sees as restrictive.
BYD currently sells commercial vehicles in the U.S., but the company’s US-branch CEO has said in interviews that she thinks the American market is “too restrictive.”
In a May 2024 interview with Yahoo Finance, BYD America CEO Stella Li said the American EV market is, “an interesting market but it’s very complicated.” As consumer interest has appeared to wane, other factors have further complicated the landscape, Li said.
“So we’re saying, ‘No… we don’t have plans to come to the US,” Li said in the interview.
The Trump administration has imposed a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports, including cars, making it fiscally prohibitive for BYD to sell cars in the U.S.
It would also be difficult for U.S. drivers to buy BYD electric cars in Canada or Mexico and drive them into the country because of federal laws regarding imported vehicles that require them to go to through a lengthy customs process to prove they comply with existing federal motor vehicle safety laws.
Under the law, known as the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988, U.S. citizens can import “non-conforming foreign motor vehicles” for personal use, as long as they can prove the car is not intended for resale at the time of importation.
People who import non-conforming foreign cars also must post bond and comply with other terms and conditions determined by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, according to the law.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a separate Thursday, Jan. 22 appearance at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show that he thinks Canada will end up living to regret its trade deal to allow Chinese EVs into its market.
“I think they will one day regret that,” he said. “I think we should be far more cognizant of our market, and our vehicles and our workers.”
Duffy added “I think one day you could sell cheap vehicles around the world, and that’s today, but tomorrow when they’re on the market, that pricing is not going to be so attractive.”
“I think you’ll see the world be gouged by China and they’ll control all the manufacturing and we can’t let that happen,” Duffy said. “I want to keep the development and the manufacturing and the American spirit of these vehicles in our country.”

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